Pearly white and pitch black
by Hanachana
Summary: A third year high school girl tries to run from her past only to run into it once more. What happens when she and her friends find themselves tangled in a story way out of their league? - AU. Heavily OC-centric.
1. Prologue

**[A/N]**

**Hey! So, this is the first fanfiction I've ever posted, so constructive critisism would be great! c: I just wanted to say hey and I hope you like my stories, this one and the future ones, too!**

**EDIT: I have changed the prologue on 22.8.2015 (8-22-15).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything borrowed from Hataraku Maō-sama!/The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, only the characters I've created!**

**Warnings: Language, slight violence (in later chapters).**

* * *

Light rain was tapping against the window of our dorm room. I was laying down on my bed with my computer screen opened and flashing blue light against my facial features.

The dorm room wasn't very big, but me and my roommate still couldn't keep it clean. The floor was full of all kinds of trash and dirty clothes and it was more like a maze than anything. You never knew which way you should pick so you wouldn't hurt yourself.

The mess continued all the way to our walls, if you considered our disarranged posters as a mess. Most of them were about anime characters, but some were also our drawings and gaming posters.

The room had two beds, one for each of its occupants. One for me and one for my roommate, Ayame Honda.

Ayame was a short girl – well, not any shorter than I was – with short blonde hair and a red stripe going through it. Her silvery gray eyes complimented her skin tone well and allowed her to wear clothing of all colors. She mostly preferred black, however.

She was the more responsible one of us and always took care of me when needed to. She was also much more social, creating contrast with my shy and pessimistic nature. We'd known each other for a long time and she was one of my closest friends.

Another close friend of mine was called Gina Matsuoka. She was in the same year in school as us, though in a different class. She was also a very social girl, though what separated her from Ayame was her neverending curiosity and more active nature.

I often wondered why they were my friends.

I was the kind of person who rather avoided people and often thought bad things about them and myself. I was also lazy and shy, which made me even more of a burden. I couldn't really wrap my head around our relationships.

My curly, white and green hair slipped over my shoulder when I finally got up from my laid down position and stretched my back. That arose the attention of my roommate, who looked at me questioningly.

"Ready to do homework, Hana-chan?" she asked after getting up from her bed on the other side of the room.

"I'd rather die..." I muttered as I face planted against my pillow with a soft whine.

Oh, and one more thing I forgot to tell... I'm an angel.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Wow! There it is now, the first prologue to the first story I've ever published. I'm kinda proud of myself! Well, anyways, what do you guys think?**

**EDIT: If you're a new person about to start reading through my story, remember that reviewing any chapter in the fic is always preferable from my point of view. I would love it if you paid such attention to my scribblings. Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 1 - Just a highschool girl

**[A/N]**

**Here is the first chapter, as promised! I wanted to start off the story with an (more or less) ordinary day in Hana's life and this is the result.**

* * *

Chapter 1 – Just a highschool girl

"Hana-chan! Hana-chaaaan!" I heard Gina calling from behind.

"Hi, Gina-chan. What is it?" I asked with a half cheery, half curious tone.

"What do you mean 'what is it?' You guys were supposed to wait for me!" she said. Gina began taking deep breaths, leaning her hands against her folded knees. She'd apparently ran here all the way from her house.

"Huh? We were? But your classes today start way later than ours," I wondered.

"What?! Do you even listen to me, Hana-chan? I told you I have some business with the principal today. You know, concerning the student council," she spoke with an aggravated tone. I didn't usually pay any attention when she started talking about boring stuff like this. I just zoned myself out and looked at her, sometimes answering with a "yeah" or a "really?" It usually got me out of the conversation quick enough.

"Oh, it must've slipped my mind. Sorry," I simply said and brushed my curly, white hair with green tips back with an innocent smile. Gina gave a powerless sigh.

"What am I gonna do with you," she muttered mostly to herself and corrected the position of her simple, black school bag that was hanging on her shoulder. "Let's go, then. Your classes are beginning." And so we entered the school building.

* * *

I found my seat from the back of the arts' classroom and put down my bag. Ayame took her seat next to me and placed her bag on the table to hide her texting, blonde hair with two orange-red stripes on one side covering her silvery eyes from my line of sight. I leaned my elbows against the table top and looked around the classroom. There were four tables with two seats on all sides of them, thirty-two in total. The seats filled one by one when the stundents slowly poured into the smallish room.

"I can't wait to finish my painting," Ayame suddenly said with an eager attitude, silvery eyes meeting my dark green ones. It was clearer than glass that she was very proud of her work and, well, why wouldn't she have been? She did pretty well in arts since she loved painting and stuff. I liked scribbling things too, but I didn't do it quite as passionetly as she did. "I only need to add the final toutches. I hope I get a good grade for it."

"Yeah," I plainly answered. I knew she liked to paint, but constantly hinting me to encourage her really irritated me. She probably didn't do it on purpose, but still. She should've known by now that I wasn't good at supporting others. I mean I could hardly support myself!

The tall, young arts' teacher walked over to close the classroom door and then circled back to her desk. She cleared her voide to silence the classroom so she could say her morning hellos. Class had begun.

* * *

"Haa! Lunch break! FINALLY!" I yelled in relief. All the other students in the music class had already packed their bags and left, but Ayame was still collecting her things.

"Please lock the door when you leave," the music teacher told us and adjusted his glasses. He gave us a warm smile and left the music room.

"I like music class, but two hours of listening someone rambling about classical music and it's history is too much!" I continued my complaining and sat on one of the desks. Ayame closed her bag and gave me a little "tssk" between her teeth. I raised a brow.

"You're just being lazy, Hana-chan," she said and sat next to me. I rolled my eyes and dug out my phone.

"Well, in the end it doesn't really even matter," I said and dialed Gina's number. I didn't usually remember phone numbers, but hers had somehow stuck to my head for good. The phone beeped a couple of times before she answered. "Hey, whereddya wanna meet up?"

"_Well, where are you?_" Gina asked.

"We're at the music class," I replied.

"_Oh, I'll just come there then, since I had math and all_."

"Alrighty, we'll wait. Bye." I ended the call and put the phone back in my bag.

"Where is she?" Ayame asked. She looked at me from the corner of her eye while tilting one of the chairs with her feet.

"She just had math, so she's nearby. It won't take her long to reach here," I said and jumped off the desk, holding my school uniform's skirt down with one hand. I lifted my school bag from the floor and slowly headed for the door. Ayame jumped off the desk as well and lifted her bag on her shoulder.

"So, where are we gonna eat today?" she asked and followed me towards the door. I turned off the lights in the classroom and exited.

"I don't know yet... what do you think sounds good?" I asked. Ayame exited the classroom and closed the door, making sure it was locked.

"MgRonald's?" she suggested with a smile on her lips, tilting her head pleadingly.

"Hmm, I could go for a burger. Let's hope Gina-chan agrees," I said and turned to look towards the nearing footsteps. _Speaking of the devil..._ Gina waved before reaching us.

"Have you guys decided yet?" the tall girl with electric-blue hair asked, smiling as usual. Well, she wasn't really _that_ tall, it was just that Ayame and I were both really short, so in contrast she looked like a giant. She'd admitted she got annoyed by that, but what are you gonna do.

"Ayame-chan suggested MgRonald's. That okay with you?" I asked and already turned for the door at the end of the hallway.

"Sure, why not," she nodded and began heading for the door. Ayame and I did as well.

* * *

We had seized our favourite table from one of the corners of MgRonald's. I sat in the corner spot, back towards the front windows and Ayame sat next to me. Gina had taken a place on the other side of the table, dipping her nuggets in some brown minium. I opened up the box my burger was in and gave a look at Ayame, who was still waiting for her pickle-free version.

"You guys can go ahead and eat, I'll catch up," she said. I nodded and took a bite of my burger. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until now.

"Hana-chan, did you finish the manga I suggested?" Gina asked between nuggets.

"The one about the vampire girl? Not yet. I'm close though," I mumbled from behind my burger and took another bite of it.

"Do you like it?" she asked and took a sip of her coke. I took time to swallow before speaking again. It was only polite, after all.

"It's alright. Vampires just aren't my thing... I'm more of a zombie-person," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, did you know that they already started airing the sixth season of "The Moving Dead"? It's really awesome for an American show, don't ya think?" Ayame declared exitedly. I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I love that show. I've been watching every episode... you should know, you're my roommate and everything," I said and raised a brow.

"I don't focus my time on watching what you do for your entertainment, little miss Important," Ayame said almost slyly and then chuckled.

"Little? I'm older than you two losers," I said ostensibly proud and flipped my hair like a real diva would. It made Gina giggle. In all honesty I wasn't the oldest at the table, but the age that read in my ID card passed both the one that read in Gina's and the one in Ayame's.

"Well, _shit,_" she said sarcastically.

"I don't think being older than us is an accomplishment to be proud of," Ayame said. I was about to reply when a young guy with black hair and red eyes in a MgRonald's employee's uniform appeared with Ayame's order.

"One Big Mag burger with no pickles?" he asked politely. Ayame confirmed the order and thanked the man. "Enjoy your meal!" he requested before returning to his duties with an unworn smile on his face.

"That guy is so cute! He's probably half of the reason I love coming to McRonald's," Gina said with a low volume, checking out the young man who was now behind the counter taking orders.

"He really is cute," I had to admit. We saw him almost every time we came to MgRonald's and he was always so polite and cheery. The perfect service sector employee. Not my type though. I could totally see him with someone smart, well-behaved and, uh, _normal_, like Gina. He was a bit too much of a plain good guy for me. His constant smiling would've driven me crazy.

"What are you guys doing after school tomorrow?" Ayame asked while taking out the hamburger from it's yellow and red cardboard box.

"I have to study... I was sick last week and missed a couple of tests, so I have to do them tomorrow and the day after," Gina said and ran her index finger down her cheek to mark a nonexistent tear.

"Too bad... what about you, Hana-chan?" Ayame turned her attention to me.

"I promised Etsuko-san to go shopping for games with her. There's a sale of older games at this one game store," I said and sipped coke from my cup.

"What? Really? You have plans...? And I thought you guys would help me with my history project," Ayame explained, disappointed of course.

"I'm terrible at history, though... you asked for tomorrow afternoon? What are you doing today, then?" I asked.

"I'm going shopping with Nobuko-san. She finally gathered the courage to ask out her crush and wants to find a perfect outfit for their date. Etsuko-san is coming as well," Ayame said. I don't know when, but half of her burger had disappeared. I stared at it for a moment. _Is she a ninja or something? She only just got that thing!_

"Etsuko-san really is everywhere," I blurted out. Luckily they didn't really seem to notice my partly annoyed tone. I could list a bunch of things I didn't like about Etsuko, sometimes I felt like I hated her, but I hung out with her anyway. I didn't know why, maybe I was intimidated by her authority. And sometimes she made me laugh.

"Nobuko-san admitted her _feelings_? To a _boy_? Are you _sure_?" Gina questioned Ayame and basically leaped over the table and onto her. I myself didn't really care about Nobuko's adventures with her multiple crushes, but she always seemed to be a fun topic of gossip for those two.

"She did! And the boy likes her back! Can you imagine? Haah! This all makes me kinda sad I don't have a boyfriend!" Ayame complained. _Are you serious? She's serious. She's really acting like a hormonal teenage girl, isn't she?_

"Ugh, boyfriends are overrated... you've probably heard the story of me and my resent ex enough times to get the picture," Gina said, frustrated. She broke up with an immature, clingy guy some time ago and loved sharing the story to every person passing by. I swore I've heard the whole thing at least three times now. Maybe more, I'd learned to zone out when that tragic novel began, too.

Ayame gave Gina a sympathetic look and dug out her phone. I guess she was just as bored in that story as I was.

"The lunch break's almost over. We'd better hurry up and eat," she said and put away her phone again. I looked at her tray. The burger and coke were almost gone! _Seriously, she has to be a ninja. I can't explain it otherwise._

"You're right, I'll pick up the pace," Gina said and stuffed the rest of the nuggets in her mouth. I wasn't in that much of a hurry, since I'd been eating my meal during their chat.

* * *

After we left from MgRonald's we all went to our separate classes. Gina had chemistry, Ayame geopraphy and I psychology. Even though I very much liked the subject, being all alone in class made me a bit anguished. I didn't like social interaction with people I wasn't friends with. It made me distress. I didn't know how to deal with the teachers because they could completely ignore everything I said if I did something "wrong", and the other students were usually much more knowledgeable about certain things than I was. I felt so cornered alone in a classroom with a bunch of them.

Luckily the school day didn't take too long to end and everybody got released home. I packed my things and exited the classroom, heading straight for the front door. That's where I always met up with the girls when school was over. I saw them from a distance, one tall and one short, other with blue and other with blond hair. I waved as I closed in on the pair and jogged the rest of the way to them.

"Hello~", I greeted. We exchanged smiles and exited the building. Today we'd be heading into the same direction, since Gina had someone to meet in the dormitory.

We walked most of the way in silence, everyone exhausted from their days. Ayame was the one to break the silence when the figures of Etsuko and Nobuko appeared from behind a corner.

"I'm gonna go now," she said, referring to her shopping trip with the two girls. I nodded and smiled. "Bye!" she said, already heading towards them.

"Bye!" Gina answered and we both watched as she greeted Nobuko by hugging her. Etsuko waved to us with that annoying smug on her face. I forced a smile and waved back, Gina waving as well. Her smile didn't seem as fake as mine, though. I couldn't tell if she actually liked the brunette, leather jacket wearing jack of all trades. I watched expressionless as the three girls walked away from us and I almost ran into a street light.

* * *

_Finally back in the dorm room!_ I threw myself on my bed and stared at the seiling for a while. It was dressed in light blue, just like the walls were. The floor was water-resistant, fake parquet. The room was fairly small, but had just enough room for both me and Ayame. Our spaces were separated by a huge bookshelf with shelves on both sides and on the footboards of our beds were our studying tables. The windows were above our beds. The walls on both of our sides were completely covered in anime drawings and movie posters and the floor barely held under all the trash and dirty clothes we'd created. Huh. I blamed most of it on Ayame, since I cleaned at least once in a while.

I got up into a sitting position and reached for my laptop on the studying table. I took the device lazily from the surface and placed it on my bed in front of me, turning it on and checking my social sites, new subscribed videos, etc. After going through the internet for a while I closed the browser and started playing Hearthrock (a very nerdy online card game). I'd been doing so badly at that game lately, I felt like I really should rethink my strategies.

* * *

It was between seven and eight pm when Ayame finally showed up into the dorm room. I moved my glazed gaze from the computer screen to her.

"Welcome back," I said with a smile and reached for the headphones on my studying table. The tired blonde probably wouldn't have agreed to listening to my game's epic music and other sound effects.

"Glad to be back..." she said with a half complaining tone and collapsed on her bed in the right portion of the room. "It took _forever_ to find something she was satisfied with! So many dresses, skirts, jeans and tops! I never wanna see clothes again," she mumbled against the bed and I could hardly tell what she was saying. I plugged in my headphones and placed them on my neck so I would hear the sound, but still be able to listen to Ayame's complaints.

"Must've been awful. You got any food with ya?" I asked, looking at the other girl from the corner of my eye.

"That's all you're thinking about? Guh! No, I don't have any food with me. I ate there," Ayame growled.

"Oh, fuck..." I cursed at the game, but Ayame might have thought it was intended for her. "I don't think I have anything of my own left." I took off the headphones and stood up, maybe a little too quickly since I felt a little dizzy for a second. I shook my head to clear my vision and walked over to the mini fridge between the door and our shared wardrobe. I kneeled down in front of it and checked it's contents: few cans of coke, a half eaten bar of chocolate and a little bit of potato salad with the name "HANA" written on it. I sighed and took out the potato salad, beginning to look for a plastic fork.

"That's all you're gonna eat today?" Ayame asked judgingly, the bed apparently separated from her face again. _Where were the forks again?_ I opened a couple of the drawers of my studying table. _Not here... not here... haa! The third one, of course!_ I took out one of the forks and stuck it into the potato salad.

"I might eat the rest of that chocolate," I casually said. It was funny how it annoyed Ayame when I threatened to eat her treats.

"You just try," she threatened with her eyes narrowed. It would've been intimitading if she wasn't dressed up like a high school girl. _Oh, that reminds me, I should've changed out of my uniform a long time ago._ I put down the salad before taking a bite of it and walked over to the wardrobe to get a change of clothes. I opened it and went through my compartment. _Shorts and a t-shirt, perfect for a lazy day._ I closed the wardrobe and walked back over to my bed to change.

"So~, are you gonna eat that chocolate anytime soon?" I asked pleadingly while taking off the uniform. I folded it up as nicely as I could and slipped into the clothes I picked a moment ago. _Ugh, my hair always gets trapped under the shirt. So annoying._ I pulled my long, curly hair out of my shirt and wondered if I should tie it up.

"Maybe... I haven't decided yet," she said, knowing exactly what I was thinking. I always promised to go buy her another one, but I never really did.

"Could you decide? I'm reeaally hungry, you know," I complained with a tilted head and puppy eyes. "Do you have a pompom?"

"Then go buy something, the stores are still open. And no, I don't have a pompom. Why don't you use that ribbon on the right side of your head?" she spoke almost sarcastically. _Why sarcasm? Now?_ Maybe she was just used to the tone.

"Oh, I didn't even think of that," I answered and opened up the cute bow tie. I straightened the black ribbon in my hands and tied my hair together. Sadly I couldn't tie it high, since the ribbon would've given in. I liked a ponytail better when it was high.

"You didn't think of going to the store?" she asked and got up, walking over to the wardrobe. She'd already opened up the bow tie on her uniform, so she was changing as well.

"No, I didn't think of the ribbon. The store... uh... it's way too much walking," I declared and carried my neatly folded uniform into the wardrobe, pushing Ayame out of the way. She growled at that.

"You're really, really lazy, you know that? Even lazier than I am," she said while changing into a pair of black sweatpants and a dark blue top. "You even risk getting enough food if you don't have to put any effort into it. You didn't change out of your school uniform until now, either."

"Well, I'd put effort in it if I was hungry enough," I defended and took the box of potato salad in my hands, finally starting to eat it up.

"Mmh, yeah, sure you would. I bet you'd starve to death if I didn't look after you," Ayame said with a colorless tone. I gave her a chuckle.

"No, I love food way too much for that to happen," I said and ate some more of the potato salad I was holding. "You, however, would suffocate under a pile of dirty laundry if I didn't make you clean it up," I replied, eyes cunningly narrowed.

"Uh-you-pfft," Ayame turned her head away, cheeks bright pink. I'd hit the nail on the head. She really hated cleaning. Ayame sat down on her bed and I sat down on the chair in front of my studying table, putting the last of the potato salad in my mouth in a couple of swift movements of the plastic fork and chewed on it.

"Why were you never like this before?" Ayame suddenly asked, turning to look at me again. I raised an eyebrow.

"Whaddya mean 'before'?" I asked without thinking. Wait, you mean...

"In Heaven," she said. "You were always so... shy, and... no... You're still weird, but like, different weird. You were much more unsure and... Well, I can't explain it in words," she stuttered like the words were foreign to her. Well, technically they were. "You're still kind of the same but... you're... different. No, you're definitely different."

I squeezed the plastic fork tightly between my thumb an index finger before putting it down.

"You know I don't wanna talk about Heaven like this, _Audiana_," I said and met my gaze with hers. I tried to make my eyes as empty as I could and after all this time, it almost came naturally. She knew I was being serious. "That place is nice, but... you should know why we're here now."

"Because you're being a child about your problems?" she asked with an all-knowing tone. That really pissed me off when se did that whether she was right or not.

"Look, you do not know anything about my problems. I didn't want to leave because of said problems either," I hissed. "I have my own reasons for doing what I do, you take care of yours."

"Yeah, your so called reasons include a ridiculous crush disappearing from your life, which he by the way, wasn't a part of to begin with!" Ayame yelled, rising to her feet. Her yelling made me shake a bit since she almost never did that. I took a deep breath and went through what she'd just said. _That... that's what she thinks? Is that what everyone thinks?_

"What...? This really does show how ignorant you are of my life, doesn't it? How ignorant everyone is. Listen carefully: don't go yelling to people you know _nothing_ about!" I growled back.

"Really? Then why don't you tell me what's going on inside that little head of yours?! If it's so frigging unique and complex, you must want to share it!" she yelled and I was pretty sure she was yelling from the top of her lungs now.

"You've been bothered by that the whole time we've been here?! That's so stupid! You think I'm some self-obsessed moron or a weak child who does stupid things because she doesn't get what she wants?! That's how you see me? You. Must. Be. A. Fucking. Idiot," I said and walked over to the door, putting on my black and purple striped sneakers.

"I'm the idiot for observing your behaviour and coming to conclusions?! You're just a child, really! And where the heck are you going?!" Ayame yelled and followed me over to the door.

"TO THE FUCKING STORE!" I yelled and slammed the door closed between us.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**There you go! Reviews would be great, if you're up to it! I'll try to post the next chapter this week.**


	3. Chapter 2 - Shaking God's toybox

**[A/N]**

**Hey everyone! Here's the second chapter. It's a flashback chapter... I'm so, so, sorry! *bows down* Unless you like flashbacks of course. They're just a convenient way of telling the story, and better to get it out of the way now.**

* * *

Chapter 2 – Shaking God's toybox

I walked down the street with lazy steps and looked around in the surprisingly quiet city evening. There weren't too many cars around and the noises of chaos and sirens came only from afar. I sighed in my thoughts, walking past multi-storey buildings block by block.

"How_ dares _she," I quietly hissed between my teeth. Indeed, how did Ayame dare to even mention Heaven, when we'd agreed not to? How dared she speak of me and my thoughts like she knew any of them? She might've outranked me in Heaven, but _she_ was the one who followed _me_ through the portal. She was just as quilty of her own fate!

"Tssk." I felt my hands squeezing into fists and tried pushing the thoughts of Ayame out of my head for now. Ah, and a great timing too, since I'd apparently just arrived at the convenience store. I tilted my head upwards to look at the glowing sign at the top of the store. _Too bad I forgot to pick up my wallet when I left. I don't think anyone could blame me, really, since I just wanted to get away from Ayame as soon as possible._

I'd walked this far, I could've as well went inside and spent more time. I walked through the sliding doors and almost covered my eyes at the brightness of the store's lighting. _Where were the cookie shelves again?_ I began looking around the store.

* * *

_**Then**_

* * *

"What do you think you're doing, Drea? Why can't you accomplish anything?!"

"I don't think you yourself are aware of the strenght you carry, Drenumi."

* * *

_**Now**_

* * *

I felt someone bump into my side and a box of cookies almost slipped from my hands. I took support from the shelf in front of me and turned to look at the one who'd pushed me.

"Oh, I'm so, so sorry!" a tall man with angelic blond hair and golden eyes said and offered his hand to me. I took it and corrected my posture.

"It's alright," I demanded and rubbed the back of my neck, a bit awkwardly if you ask me. "I should've been more alert." The man smiled.

"Do you by any chance happen to know where the spice rack is nowadays? They've changed the order here quite a bit since I last shopped here," he said. I took a quick look at his shopping basket. It consisted mostly of cut-price products.

"Oh, I think it's the third row from the cash desks," I said while pointing in the mentioned direction.

"Thank you! Who new the world still had some great people in it," he said, almost mumbling the last sentence. I gave him an awkward smile before he left for the spice rack.

_I thought he'd never leave._ I sighed and turned to look at the cookie shelf again, beginning to notice my growing hunger. _The potato salad wasn't enough after all?_ I placed a hand on my stomach and looked around for cameras. What was I thinking, though? I could never sneak out a box of cookies unnoticed. I turned my gaze toward the floor.

On the floor laid a brown leatherette wallet. I was sure it wasn't there before, so... the blond guy must've dropped it. I walked over to it, kneeled down and looked up at a security camera staring right at me. I picked up the wallet from the floor, stood up and headed a bit closer to the spice rack until I found a blind spot from the cameras. I opened up the wallet as silently as I could and checked it's insides. Not much, like I'd expected, but I didn't think the guy would notice if I took enough for one box of cookies. I snatched some money from him and closed the wallet.

"Sir!" I half yelled as I walked over to the spice rack. "Sir, you dropped your wallet back there," I continued and offered the lost item to him.

"Oh, you truly are a beatiful person, aren't you?" he said almost teary-eyed as he took the wallet back. I offered him a broken smile and returned to the cookie shelves. My broken smile turned more and more crooked the closer I got to the treats. Luckily none of my friends from Heaven were there to witness my little crime. They would've most likely been horror-struck.

* * *

_**Then**_

* * *

"Drea," a distant voice called my name. _But it's so warm... I don't want to leave this place._

"Drea!" the voice was getting stronger. I squeezed myself in a little ball. Why wouldn't it shut up?

"DREA!" the voide screamed into my ear and suddenly the warmth around me disappeared. My eyes opened wide and my hands wrapped around my upper body. _So I was sleeping? Huh._

"Drea! Just get up already, training's starting!" a brown-eyed, curly haired girl in a soldier's outfit and armor yelled at me. I yawned and looked at my cover in her hands.

"Give that back," I ordered and laid myself comfortably against my pillow.

"No, we're leaving now!" she said and pulled me down from the bed. I yelled as I thumped against the stone flooring.

"OWW! Seriously, Sal! Why'd you have to do that?" I yelled and rubbed my left elbow, that hit the ground first.

"We're almost late. Get your clothes on and come outside, I'll be waiting for you there!" she yelled and marched out of my bedroom. I yawned and stood up. In my opinion Sal was way too much concerned about my life these days. _I bet I would've woken up on my own in a couple of minutes..._

I changed out of my pink and white night gown and put on my armor. It was light armor and covered only the forearms, legs and shoulders. It needed to be light and give in to make flying possible. The lightness of the armor however, didn't make it easily breakable. Angels had always been masters in forging sustainable armor and weapons.

I walked out of my small, white stone house and Sal was waiting for me at the door like she'd said. There was an annoyed look on her face._ What? Speak up, please._

"At least tie your hair," she growled and walked off my flower-covered yard. My house looked more like and exotic garden than a home, since I loved growing different plants outside of it. I ran my hand through my curly white and green hair. _I need something to tie up my hair..._ With a small flick of my hand I created a black ribbon that tied my hair up on it's own. I walked through the gate of my garden and over to Sal. She summoned her wings and spread them.

"I'd better not be late because of you again," she threatened and took flight. Great... that arrogant tone again. I spread my wings too and flew after her. I caught up quickly, since I was an excellent flier.

* * *

It didn't take long for us to appear at the training grounds and we arrived on time, too. Our group leader hadn't even arrived yet. I looked around the sand court surrounded by brick-colored metal fences. What was the point of those, anyway? We could've just flied over them if we wanted to.

"You're lucky we're on time," Sal said and looked around her as well, through all the people, looking for our friends. It didn't take her long to find the two guys from the side of the court and we headed over to them, hiding our wings as we walked.

"Wow, you're not late for once," a red-headed, pale guy said, his voice almost annoyingly confident as always. I forced a smile at him.

"How's it going?" a guy weirdly tall for an angel spoke. He had chestnut hair and orange eyes and went by the nickname "Phantom", because nobody could see him coming. Like, seriously, his steps were quieter than feathers falling.

"Better once the group leader arrives. I'm itching for some training!" Sal said and shrugged her shoulders.

"Me too. I feel like I'm gonna kick ass today," the redhead, Flamm, said. I simply yawned again. _Why is early training even a thing? It's like five o'clock in the morning._

Suddenly every angel on the court started lining up. I knew what that meant. The group leader must've arrived. I waved goodbyes to my friends and found my place in the lines, as did they.

"Good morning everyone," spoke a loud voice from the middle of the courtyard. I saw a young woman with blond, orange-red striped hair, named Audiana. She was our group leader, a fairly powerful angel from the upper ranks. "Today we'll continue the one-on-one battle training from yesterday. Like agreed, no magic, no wings. Find your groups now, I'll be estimating your success from afar."

I found my friends once again. In the start of the training program everyone was ordered in a team defined by the higher-ups. Team members would have strenght in different areas, strenght the teams could use together in a fight. My friends were the team I was ordered in long time ago and we'd ranked up together since then.

"Drea, wanna go against me first?" Flamm asked with a challenging tone.

"Why not," I replied and took my battle stance. He was already shaking his head in disappointment. _What is it this time?_

"Your stance. It's completely wrong. How're you gonna stay standing if I hit you now?" he spoke judgingly.

"You won't have the time to, since you're gonna hit the ground in a couple of seconds," I growled back playfully, still correcting my position. He knew what he was doing, after all. He gave me a sly smile and took his stance as well.

"Three... two... one... begin!" Sal yelled and in a matter of tenths of a second the first kicks had been lied and dodged. Flamm threw a series of punches towards me and I only barely dodged the last one by doing a backflip and kicking him on the jaw. I landed on my feet and took support from the ground. He was rubbing his jaw. I gave him a smile.

"Well done, but now you're going down," he said and immediately ran towards me. I dodged again, only barely and tried to throw another kick at him. He caught my foot and threw me against the ground. He locked my hands behing my back and sat on my legs. The position hurt, but not too much to bare.

"Aaand... it's done. You did better than usually though, Drea," Sal praised and patted me on the head.

"Yeah. Great... Flemm, please get off me now," I demanded. Flemm chuckled before letting me go and I sat up, rubbing the fronts of my elbows.

"Who wants to go next?" Flemm gave Sal and Phantom a challenging hand motion.

"You asked for it!" Sal challenged and walked over to the redhead, taking her stance. Flemm smiled and took his.

"Three... two... one... begin!" Phantom yelled. I watched from the corner of my eye as Audiana walked past us and stopped to watch the fight between Flemm and Sal, our team's two strongest fighters. I turned to look at them for a moment too. Sal was on Flemm's shoulders, knees squeezing his head. Flemm grabbed her legs, but she proceeded by hitting him in the previously struck jaw. He let go of her knees and she landed on the ground with a backflip, kicking Flemm on the back of his knees to make him fall down. He took support from the ground and when Sal walked confidently closer to him, he suddenly grabbed her from the ankle and pulled her on the ground as well. Then he stood up, grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the metal fence. There was no escaping for her.

"You're done, Flemm wins again," Phantom chuckled and walked over to them. Flemm let go of Sal and she growled.

"Well, I'll be sure to beat you next round," she threatened, but everyone knew it was useless. While Flemm's strenght lied in one-on-one combat, Sal's lied in magic use. Phantom's strenght was in sneaking around and surprise attacks while mine was in flying. That's how our teams were built.

* * *

After multiple hours of drudging we were finally let off. I gasped for air and stretched every part of my body.

"Haa! I'm so done! I'm gonna go straight back to sleep when I get home," I complained.

"Me too. I didn't expect today to be this hard," Flemm replied and brushed back his short, red hair. I saw from the corner of my eye when Phantom walked over to Sal a couple of meters away from us. Sal was stretching as well.

"Hey, umm... would you wanna come over to my house for drinks? I really wanted to try this new juice I bought..." Phantom spoke a little unsure and rubbed the back of his head.

"Huh? Yeah, sure," Sal answered nonchalanty, not even noticing the courage Phan had build just for this one question. It didn't matter though, since a smile spread across his face anyway.

"Cool! Great," was the only thing he could come up with, apparently. I giggled and turned to look at Flemm again.

"Finally," I said in a low volume and he nodded with a smile on his face. We'd seen signs of Phan's crush for a while now, but were afraid he'd never get the strenght to speak to Sal about it. Today was the day, for sure. "Hey guys, I'm gonna go ahead and leave now," I said to all three.

"You are? Well... bye then," Phan said and waved shortly.

"You'd better not be late tomorrow," Sal threatened and stood up. "Well, bye."

"Bye bye," Flemm waved as I summoned my wings and spread them. I waved to them as I took flight.

* * *

Flying home was indeniably the best part of my day. The way itself wasn't that long, but I always took the longest route possible and practised my flying skills. I wasn't in a hurry, the sky was clear and the wind brushed soft and cool against my skin.

I spread my arms on both sides and threw myself against the wind. I followed it for a while before closing in on the ground and starting to dodge rocks and hills. Flying was the best fun one could have, in my opinion.

Suddenly I felt a sudden push of air from my right side and it wavered my flight pattern. I soon regained my position and turned to look in the direction of the sudden disturbance. It was another angel, about fifteen meters away, flying at the same speed as I. _Impressive, I must say. But... what's that? Is he giving me challenging gestures with his hand...?_

I raised a brow, but I didn't think he could see such a small gesture at this speed. I didn't care however. He stopped making the gestures with his hand and I thought he'd given up. I was wrong. He flew a few meters closer to me, making me dodge. If he'd ran into me, we'd both be on the ground soon._ What and idiot!_ After that it appeared he began laughing and flew a bit higher, speeding up way ahead.

I looked in the way he'd flew. That attitude made me feel weird. Weird, like... competitive. That was a feeling I wasn't so familiar with. However, right now I needed to catch up on him, no, I needed to beat him. Really badly. I gritted my teeth together and sped up, flying after him.

It took me some time to locate the other angel, but once I did, I couldn't be happier. I saw him farther ahead, on the right. I flew a bit closer and he apparently saw me coming, since he quickly sped up farther ahead. _Not this time._ I sped up immediately, staying firmly on his tail. He looked back at me and soon after that he changed his direction. He headed up, towards a group of clouds. I followed him, though confused. _Wouldn't leading me between giant rocks or in a forest make me fall easier? I mean, that's what I think he's trying to do, at least._

I flew towards the clouds and watched as he penetrated them in a weird flying position. He looked like a speeding bullet to me. I raised a brow and flew into the cloud... and suddenly I understood his position. _The clouds are made of water._ I felt as my wings got wetter and wetter and flying kept getting harder. I couldn't see anything, either, so I just kept heading up. It didn't take long for me to reach the top of the cloud and see him flying calmly in circles on top of it. I growled.

The guy's wings seemed almost perfectly dry and he was laughing at me for my obvious failure. I pursed my lips in annoyment and used my magic to get rid of the water making my wings heavier. I collected it all in one bubble on my hand and threw it right at him. He barely dodged it, since he apparently wasn't expecting for a hostile act like that. He's laughing stopped for a moment and he just stared at me. I stared back.

"Oy, you wanna come down with me?" he yelled and pointed towards the ground. I gritted my teeth together. I have to admit the guy made me really curious. I nodded, hoping he would see it. When he didn't reply immediately, I spoke:

"Sure!"

"Cool, see you there!" he yelled and headed through the clouds and towards the ground. I flew there just for a second before leaving. _The clouds are really pretty from this angle. They look like cotton. And the sunlight reclefts beautifully from them._ I returned my attention to the matter at hand and headed for the ground, this time around the clouds.

* * *

When I found the guy I'd flew with only minutes ago, he was sitting in the middle of a flower field on a surprisingly high rock. There was a smile on his face when I landed between the flowers and walked over to him, angel wings still out. Now I could see him properly. Purple hair and eyes, pale skin, white and gold jacket and a golden laurel on his head. Didn't only the most powerful angels wear those, or was I misinformed?

"That was fun," the guy spoke. I just stood there and looked at him._ I... I guess it was._ A small, still doubting smile spread across my face.

"You almost killed me there," I spoke, oddly enough still smiling.

"Hmm? Yeah, I guess I did," the guy chuckled. "Who are you, girl?"

"A soldier in the lower ranks of the army, the flier of my team, Drenumi." I introdused myself properly, since he appeared to be a higher up. I brushed back my messed up hair and decided it was better to just open it up. The ponytail was history by now.

"Hmm? Really? A low-ranking soldier managed to keep up with me. That's new," he said and leaned his cheek against his right hand. "I'm Lucifer by the way." _Wait. What? Lucifer? As in... the Lucifer? The most powerful angel in all of Heaven? No. No, it couldn't be. This has to be a dream. Maybe Sal never actually woke me up in the morning and I've slept over training._

"Huh...? For real?" was everything I could come up with to say. I looked at him again._ I think I've seen him before – this has to be the same guy. This is no dream after all, is it?_

"Is it so hard to believe?" he chuckled and changed his position on the rock. I just stared at him with a stupid expression on my face. "You have great potential, rookie," he spoke and the words seemed to return me on the ground.

"What? Uh... I don't think so, fliers don't do so well in the long run... It's the magic users who... well, you know," I stuttered and ran my left hand nervously through my hair. He looked at me like one would in my opinion look at a mentally disabled person.

"You know what wings use to work, right?" he asked with an amused expression. My stupidity must've been like a good treat for him.

"Huh? Eh..." I kept on stuttering. This situation I was in still felt surreal.

"Magic," he continued his sentence as if he never expected me to answer. "I don't think you yourself are aware of the strenght you carry, Drenumi." I completely froze, looking at him while he spread his wings. "Well, I guess I'll have to be going now. See ya," he casually said before flying off. I stared in the direction he'd flew like he wasn't even real to begin with and I was trying to grasp the final image of him, a broken off piece of my memories.

* * *

Only a short time after I met Lucifer everything started to fall into chaos. The dark lord began taking over Ente Isla and Lucifer left Heaven to side with him. Almost all the angels were enraged, some of them terrified of the change, the rest of them reminding that we still had God on our side. People began changing when the events proceeded, me and my friends included.

Our training in the army started getting more and more intense every single class. It didn't take long for me to start skipping classes and it made my team, especially Sal, furious. She came to my house every so often only to yell at me, sometimes even getting violent.

"What do you think you're doing, Drea? Why can't you accomplish anything?!" she yelled one time when taking down my garden piece by piece, tears in her eyes. "Everything is in chaos, world is falling into darkness, and you're sleeping! SLEEPING! What about your duties as a soldier of Heaven's army?!" she yelled. I just stood there, looking at the chaos she herself had caused. It didn't take long for them to give up on me and move on. They said it was for until I became rational again that they took in another flier. I silently agreed.

The more I skipped class, the more I stayed home, the more I became afraid. Afraid of the outside world, the chaos, the people, and finally... my own thoughts. I was afraid, so afraid I could barely move. The only thing that kept me in one piece were Lucifers words: "I don't think you yourself are aware of the strenght you carry." I wanted to believe it, but coming from someone like him, someone who'd betrayed Heaven, I was really grasping at straws on what to believe in.

And then, I stopped believing. I let go of everything, every consept of good and bad, every consept of reality. Everything became crystal clear in my mind. Everyone's selfish. Everyone wants what's best for them. No one's there for you expect yourself. I got bored of the world around me. I knew I should've chased something I wanted now that I understood it, but it was too late. I didn't want anything anymore. I was just an empty shell waiting for something to happen. Screaming inside my mind, "_please, give me something. Anything at all._"

It was around that time that I also realized it was time to move on. Too cowardly for death and too selfish for battle, I decided it was time to leave that place, that Heaven, for it was Heaven no more.

I found a place with the most potential for performing a spell for a portal through time and space, laughing at the idea of me even being able to create one. And much to my surprise, when I tried it... my magic was indeed strong enough. I never thought it would be and soon I realized it wasn't. There was something else. Another angel, Audiana. She was helping me create the portal.

"Take me with you," she said. "We don't have to see each other on the other side. We don't have to think of this place ever again," she continued with empty eyes. I looked back at her, confused. After some time I nodded and we both entered the portal.

* * *

On the other side of the portal a strange world awaited us. We felt our magic slipping away piece by piece and the strange rules of this world forced us to team up. We managed through together, becoming friends, even, never mentioning a word about our pasts. We met so many new people, learned of many new things and places (like the internet), that I began feeling alive once more.

* * *

_**Now**_

* * *

I'd walked all the way over to the dormitories while thinking about the past. I hadn't even noticed I'd gotten there and had completely forgotten what I was doing outside, anyway. Then it all came back to me. _Ayame... blond guy... cookies. Right._ I shook my head and entered the dormitory, heading over to our dorm room.

I got to the room quickly, entering it as silently as I could. I looked inside and saw Ayame soundly asleep. Good. Now I wouldn't have to deal with her nagging. I entered the room, took off my shoes and sat down on my bed, eating the chocolate chip cookies one after another. _Yummy, indeed._

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Soo, that happened. Anyways, the next chapter will be up next week! And don't worry, the fanfiction part will pick up then, good. I have it planned out, I'll just have to write it down. Hope you liked this chapter, and again, reviews would be just awesome!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Games bring people together

**[A/N]**

**Aaaand... here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3 – Games bring people together

It was about eight o'clock when I woke up on my bed, still dressed in yesterday's clothes and hugging a half-empty box of cookies against my chest. I blinked my dark green eyes for a second, gathering my thoughts, sitting up and yawning. I looked around in the messy dorm room, looking for Ayame. She wasn't there anymore. Her classes on Thursdays started earlier than mine, since she had biology.

I got up reluctantly and stretched my back and arms. I heard as my vertebras clicked in place. _Ahh, what a great feeling!_ I opened up the messy ponytail my hair was in and placed the black ribbon tying it on my desk. My body was practically screaming for a shower, so I got a towel from the closet and dragged myself toward the floor's bathroom.

* * *

After the refreshing experience I walked lazily back to the dorm room, only a blue dolphin towel around me, carrying my dirty clothes in my hands. I passed by a couple of students heading for their classes, all girls, of course. I didn't pay much attention to the people passing by, partly because my thoughts were still wondering around the fight I had with Ayame.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and automatically turned around and hopped back, taking my battle stance from the days of being a soldier. The clothes in my hands had suddenly spread all over the floor. I just stood there, staring intensly in the direction I was 'attacked' from. Staring back at me with a weird look on her face stood Etsuko. She was wearing her school uniform and her face was full of thick but pretty make up, as usual.

"Umm... what are you doing?" she asked me half demanding, half scared. She probably hadn't expected my jumpy reaction. I cleared my throat and stood up normally, gathering up my clothes from the floor.

"Uh... eh... nothing. What'd you scare me for?" I asked, stuttering at first.

"You seemed a bit out of it. You didn't even notice me passing by," she said, tilting her head to the side, fingertips beginning to play with her uniform skirt's hem. Her other hand was around her school bag's strap.

"Ah, I was just lost in thought," I giggled and brushed back my still dank hair. I got up from the floor and pressed the pile of clothes against my stomach. She raised an eyebrow. "I... I just had a little fight with Ayame yesterday. It's alright, we'll get throught it, it's nothing too serious," I lied with a fake smile on my lips. I wasn't only annoyed by the topic, but simply that girl's presence was enough to make me tick.

"Oh. Well, don't forget we're going game shopping today. You have such a reckless mind, after all," she said, moving both of her hands on the strap. _There she goes again, changing the subject to whatever she likes, trying to bring down my confidence as she does._ I growled inside.

"I remember," I simply said. If I would've continued the sentence anymore, it would've undoubtedly turned into a one huge "fuck you" to her face.

"Well, good. I'll meet you after school in the main lobby, got it?" she asked, trying to sound cheery. In my ears it just sounded annoyingly demanding.

"Yeah, I'll be there when my classes are done," I said, barely maintaining my smile. Please, leave before I rip out your spleen and feed it to low rate demons.

"Good, I'll be waiting!" she said before waving and disappearing somewhere in the hallways. I let out a relieved sigh and looked around me to find my direction. I headed back to the dorm room with a frown. _This morning was ruined quickly._

* * *

The classes went by surprisingly fast, maybe because I wasn't particularly excited for going shopping with Etsuko. She always wanted everyone else to give her opinions, acting all vulnerable and then bashed everyone else's choices. This time it was shopping for games, so she'd most likely brag with her experteese on the subject the whole time. _I wish I had earplugs to pack with me._

My music class ended a couple of minutes early, so I was excited for being in the lobby before Etsuko._ I'm gonna show her how "reckless" my mind is._ It was funny, because usually I didn't care about proving myself, but Etsuko somehow knew exactly which strings to pull. It didn't matter who you were, what sex you were or how old you were, Etsuko had everyone wrapped around her little finger.

I arrived in the lobby, checking the time on my phone as I did. There were many students there, some of them leaving through the main doors. Luckily Etsuko was nowhere to be seen and it made me grin almost evilly. "I beat her" was the only thing running through my head. I walked over to a wall and leaned my back lazily against it, playing a game on my lilac flip phone.

* * *

I'd been standing in the lobby for a while now, I was sure of it, since I'd progressed in the game by five levels. I flipped my phone closed and put it in my bag, looking around me. There were only a couple of students in the lobby besides me: a couple making out in the shadow of the lockers and a cute readhead apparently also waiting for her friends, since she kept checking her phone._ Could she have slipped past me while I was stil playing? No, she would've contacted me already, asking why I was late._

After waiting for Etsuko for a little while longer I grew impatient. Had something happened? Did she have to go to the principal's office or something? Why wasn't she trying to contact me? I shook my head and pushed myself off the wall, looking around the hall. I still couldn't see her. _Which class did she have before she got off, again?_ After pondering for a moment I began heading for the textile class.

The hallways were annoyingly long, so it took several minutes for me to reach the textile class even when I was almost running. As I got to the right hallway, the one where the handicraft classes were located, I though I heard someone giggle. It felt a bit creepy, since the school was almost empty at this point. I hesitated a moment before continuing my walking.

When I was halfway to the classroom, I heard another giggle, this time a bit longer, louder and much more humanlike. Could it be that... I walked all the way over to the textile class, pushing the already half open door all the way open. My jaw dropped at the sight.

Etsuko, three other students and the textile teacher, a middle-aged woman with glittering blue eyes, had formed a little chatting circle in the middle of the classroom. The three other students were all sitting around a large worktable, the teacher was standing there and chatting with them cheerily and Etsuko was sitting on the table, seemingly very into the current conversation. I felt as my frown from the morning formed on my face once again.

"Etsuko-san!" I yelled from the door, squeezing the strap of my schoolbag with my other hand. She turned to look at me with a confused expression.

"Huh? Who... oh. Oh, Hana-san! Oh, I'm sorry, I totally forgot about you," she said, relaxed.

"What?! You told me not to be late yourself, Etsuko-san! What about the sale?" I asked, holding back my yelling. I tried to keep my tone and expression as neutral as I could, but my annoyance managed to shine through.

"Oh, it's really late! We got a bit too into the conversation. Kids, it's time for you to leave," the teacher said, clearly a bit ashamed of herself for 'keeping' the students there, even though I was sure it was Etsuko's doing. The circle broke as everyone exited the classroom, Etsuko included. The other students left and so did the teacher after locking the classroom door.

"I thought you said the good stuff is gonna get taken if we don't get there early," I said with an annoyed undertone. She simply smiled at me.

"Yeah, we'll have to hurry. It's just, I couldn't be rude and just leave, ya'know?" she said, walking towards the main lobby. I followed her after recovering from the mini-shock she gave me.

"What...?" I said, slowly and almost muttering. I did't really want to hear another word, but my annoyance and curiosity were killing me.

"Walk a little faster, would'ya?" she asked, picking up her pace as well. I did as she said, pursing my lips together. _So _now_ she's in a hurry?_

* * *

We almost ran to the game store and when we got there, many people were already inside. The store wasn't that big, so it looked very tightly packed inside. I hated places like this.

"Oh, shit. We're a bit late, it seems," she said with an innocent tone. I was ready to explode, but held my tongue with all my might. We entered the store with lifeless looks, but once we were inside, Etsuko's face lit up like a candle. "Haa, it seems the best one's aren't all gone!" she yelled, heading over to one of the shelves, almost pushing people down as she went. The store was indeed tightly packed and also hot. Very, very hot. Sweat was almost dripping from my forehead even though the airconditioning seemed to be working properly. I watched lazily as Etsuko went through some first-person shooter games, eyes glittering.

I wiped my forehead and tried to find a spot with less people. There was no luck, since almost every game was on sale and they were placed in many different places. _How annoying. I like it better when all people are manageably packed in one place._

As I wondered around the store I noticed I had walked between a couple of shelves with only few people. I looked at the games. All role-playing or adventure games, apparently. I liked those more than the popular "Yell of Onus"-games. In my opinion there wasn't really that much fun in just shooting people, and I heard the community was terrible as well. It got boring too fast.

I went through the games with lazy eyes, reaching my hand toward an interesting game that passed by once in a while. Suddenly I noticed something from the corner of my eye, immediately walking over to it._ All the older extension packs to "Realm of Warship" are half off?_ _I never bothered to even think about going further than the free version, but they're so cheap now..._ I bit my lower lip.

After holding myself back for as long as I could, I finally gave in to my desire and grabbed a hold of the first extension pack. But just as I grabbed hold of it, I saw another hand grabbing the exact same copy.

"Oh, sorry, you can have that one," said a young male with purple hair and let go of the game, taking another copy. I simply stared at him as he checked out the game in his hands with a neutral expression. A short, young guy with a purple hair and matching eyes, wearing a loose T-shirt and light blue jeans. I couldn't get a word out of my mouth. He must've noticed my stare and moved his gaze to me, apparently annoyed.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You're..." I sort of stuttered, trying to get the words out of my mouth. He raised a brow. "You're... you're Lucifer," I said, feeling as my body began to tremble when those words became real.

For the longest time the both of us could do nothing but stare at each other, his face turning from annoyed to just pure shock. I bet my face was exactly the same. I knew what I said was true, even though I'd been doubtful just moments ago. The longer we stared at each other, the more I knew.

Since we obviously couldn't stand there forever, I tried my best to snap out of it and figure out something to say.

"Umm..." I began, but suddenly Lucifer grabbed my arm.

"Let's talk outside. Now," he said, pulling me towards the door. I didn't resist, but a partly terrified look never left my face. I felt my heart pounding in my chest as we pushed through the people and exited through the door, now standing face to face at the corner of the store. Lucifer let go of my arm and I backed off a couple of steps.

"Umm... I-"

"You're from Ente Isla, aren't you?" he asked with a sharp tone and narrowed his eyes. It didn't seem that he remembered me, but then again, why would he?

"Y-yes. Well, no. I'm... I'm actually an angel," I managed to stutter out. _This feels so unreal. Just like we first met, except this time things are far more complicated. I think that goes without saying._

"You're from Heaven, huh? You must be a semi-low rank, since I don't know you. Or have you only gotten a position there?" he asked, keeping his sharp tone.

"No, I'm not that strong, to be honest..." I said. Every word I said brought me back a little more. I shook my head to shake the uncomfortable feeling of surrealness. _I need to focus._

"Then you're definitely not here to chase after Maou or Emilia... Maybe you were sent as a spy from Heaven. No, but then you probably wouldn't have been so surprised seeing me here," he mostly mumbled to himself, leaning his chin against his hand. I shook my head once more, returning completely to reality now.

"I'm... I wasn't sent here, I came of my own will," I stated and his attention moved back from his thoughts to me. He was just about to speak when a voice was heard from behind his back.

"Hey, you over there!" we turned our heads to look at the speaker. "Yes, you two! You 'forgot' to pay for your games!" one of the store's cashieers yelled as he ran to us with a pissed off look on his face. We automatically backed off a bit when he got to us, since he was obivously taller than us, and as a bonus, looked like he was built, too.

"Uh, em, I'm sorry! I didn't realize!" I yelled in panic and looked at the extension pack in my hand. Lucifer looked at his, too, and we both handed the games back to him. He still didn't look happy, not at all. My heart began pounding again. I wasn't usually caught over stuff like this, even if it wasn't intentional.

"You guys are gonna have to come back with me..." he began, mostly looking at me. When he turned to look at Lucifer, however, he seemed to have noticed something. He just kept looking at his face for a second. I couldn't see Lucifer's expression since I was standing behind him, but his fingers suddenly seemed to twitch. _Something's definitely going on._ "Aren't you..." the man began, suddenly trying to grab Lucifer from the wrist. He dodged the sudden movement however, hopping back and bumping into me. We both almost fell but managed to regain our balance.

"Run!" he suddenly yelled at me as the cashieer tried to grab him once more.

"What's-"

"Come back here, asshole!" the man yelled, running after the fleeing Lucifer. Before he passed me, though, he turned to look at me and I flinched. He reached his arm toward me and I automatically grabbed it, moving to the side and trying to kick the backs of his knees. Even though he was very built, he didn't seem to have that much experience in close combat and the move surprised him, bringing him down to the ground.

I let go of the guy's arm, jumped over him and ran after Lucifer as fast as I could, my skirt fluttering in the wind. I tried to hold it down with one hand as I ran.

* * *

After running for a few blocks I thought I saw purple hair flashing in one of the alleys. I headed after it without a second thought, making sure the guy from the store wasn't after me. _Hopefully the tarmac didn't treat him too badly._

After running behind the corner and into the ally, I actually did find Lucifer there. He was leaning a hand against a wall and taking deep breaths. He didn't seem too used to running nowadays, which I would've find a little amusing, if I wasn't somewhat out of breath as well. _Maybe I shouldn't have eaten cookies and potato salad for dinner yesterday. Maybe I should've been working out or something for an occurance like this... but I needed to get to a higher rank in Hearthrock. Damn this world and it's lovely temptations!_

"Oy. Anybody home?" the purple-headed guy spoke, tapping his phalanx against my forehead. I jumped back and placed a hand over my forehead, probably blushing a bit. _Was I spacing out?_

"Huh? I- uhm, eh..." I stuttered awkwardly.

"You really can't form one proper sentence," Lucifer said with a mocking tone.

"Wha-, shut up!" I yelled. _Not being able to speak really isn't like me._ _Maybe the whole situation has confused me more than I thought._ "What was that about, anyway?! Why was he being so aggressive over a couple of games?"

"How should I say this... awh, fuck it. Me and Olba Meyer kinda robbed places to gather magic when we first got here," he said, looking away a bit awkwardly. I blinked in confusion.

"What?!" I yelled. _Olba Meyer... I've heard of him. He was a part of the Hero's army against the Demon Lord. A priest, I think._ "Isn't Olba on the Hero's side anymore?! How did you gather magic from robbing people?! Did you end up in the news or something, since that guy knew you?! Why are you out in public if the police are after you?!" I yelled the questions like it was one long sentence.

"Be quiet!" Lucifer hissed and took a threatening step closer to me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "You don't know anything about anything, do you? How long have you been living here?" he sighed and backed away from me.

"Well... I left Heaven with another angel during the war," I replied. _How much have I missed, indeed?_ My curiosity grew immensely. "Why are you out in public?!" I repeated the most burning question on my mind.

"Because of the sale of course," he simply replied. That reasoning didn't satisfy me at all. "Another angel? So there's two of you?" he asked. I nodded. "It's better to explain things to the both of you at the same time, then. I don't wanna repeat myself... no, wait. I don't want to be the one explaining it all to you, either."

"You're not gonna explain? So who is?" I asked. If I was a dog, I would've been wagging my tail to no end right now. I was going to burst with curiosity. The questions simply couldn't stop spilling from my mouth. "And who risks their freedom for a couple of games?!"

"Listen, do you know the MgRonald's nearby?" He asked. I nodded again, a confused look on my face. "Go there tomorrow at..." I watched as his gaze wondered down from my face. I soon realized he was eyeing at my school uniform. "...four o'clock. You've gotten out of school by that time, right?" he asked, moving his gaze back to my face. _What an uninteresting meeting place._

"You're not gonna be there, then? Should I bring Ayame?" I asked. "Who should we talk to?"

"I'll send him to you. And yeah, take your friend with ya," he said. "I have to go back before anyone finds me," he continued and already began walking, keeping an eye on the street. I walked after him. "Oh, what's your name? Mine here is Hanzo Urushihara, so just call me that in public, alright?"

"Here I'm Hana Wakahisa," I said without revealing my actual name. I didn't know if it even mattered right now, so I didn't bother. Lucifer nodded.

"I'll send him to talk to ya. Bye," he said nonchalantly, like he didn't care one bit. A little different from before. Maybe he was in as big of a shock as I was.

"Bye..." I replied long after he'd disappeared behind a corner.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**I'm sorry about the shortnessof this one! I'll try to make them longer in the future. It just felt like a good place to stop writing. Now I'm kinda confused and not completely sure what I should write next (writer's block kinda), but I'll definitely post a new chapter next Monday! You can give me suggestions too, if you want to. :) Hoped you liked this chapter and reviews would be great!**


	5. Chapter 4 - Expectations never hold

**[A/N]**

**TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! *yay* I turned seventeen, what a useless age! Lol. Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 4 – Expectations never hold

I walked back to our dormitory with a blank look on my face. _This is real, right? Right...? Lucifer being in Tokyo isn't just something I'm making up in my head, is it?_ I shook my head. _No, this is definitely the reality and I have to accept it and make due with it. I can't lose control now._

I was a little worried, since a fight I'd been avoiding since yesterday night was awaiting me behind a certain dark brown door with the number plate "186" on it.

It didn't take me long to arrive to the dormitories and I hurried through the doors and hallways all the way to our room. I knew the classes for the day were over and Ayame would most likely be waiting for me to come, having planned out the first attack against me. I stood behind the door and tried to prepare myself for what was to come, brushing away all the emotions that the fallen angel had brought back to my surprisingly fragile mind. I opened the door, an image of our messy dorm room filling my view, and weaved throught the dirty clothes and trash on the floor with an emotionless expression on my face.

"I thought you wouldn't be back yet," Ayame said pretty nonchalantly and put down a history book she'd apparently been reading, sitting up on her bed. I myself found history boring and hadn't really ever even probably eyed a book about it. I wondered how Ayame found so much joy in it.

"Me neither," I simply answered, walking over to the closet and opening it, trying to find a change of clothes._ I wonder how I should start... well, Ayame will probably take the lead anyway._

"About yesterday..." Luckily I was right and didn't have to do too much brainwork. "I shouldn't have brought up the subject... but I still stand behind what I said," she said and I turned to look at her, nicely folded black top, striped knee socks and a denim skirt in my hands. "I still blame you for our situation." I growled silently and turned to look away. _Really? You blame_ _me?_

"And why is that, miss Perfect? You think you're a god-like creature who never makes mistakes, because your Father says you're a special one?" I said clenching my teeth together at first, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I watched with odd satisfaction as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"No..." she began, her tone unintentionally messaging that she was swallowing her rage the best she could. "I blame you, because without you I'd never even gotten the idea to leave... the idea or the chance." I raised a brow and began taking off my school uniform, folding it up on my bed as I did. "When you began skipping classes... some others took after you and the already raising chaos continued, stronger than ever. The atmosphere was tense and many teams had problems performing without their usual members. That of course made me and many other group leaders stressed out, hardening the training constantly... The teams couldn't keep up and were sure to be dead in battle in a matter of minutes, if it continued like that..."

"Well, if I hadn't been the first one, someone else would've," I said while putting on the last piece of my outfit, the striped knee socks. "The chaos was running pretty rampantly, after all." I brushed back my hair in an almost flirty manner and studied my appearance from the front camera of my phone, trying to look as passive and cold as I could. It probably went without mentioning that I didn't enjoy my current situation.

"But you _were_ the first one! And nothing can change that!" Ayame stood up and squeezed her hands into fists. "Because of you and all that happened, I lost control over myself... I couldn't take it all anymore, especially after I heard my group would be joining in the battle against Satan!" she yelled. I stopped everything I was doing, almost dropping the phone from my hand, only barely cathing it from mid-air. _Wait, what?! My friends went into battle...? I didn't think they'd be taking such low-level soldiers to war._ "I found you by chance when I was flying around... I sensed someone with great magic power and I knew right away that it was my only chance to get away from it all... And as the idiot I am, I took it," Ayame said almost tearing up and moved her gaze to the floor. "I left everyone... to fight a war they weren't ready for..."

I could hardly manage to breathe normally. I simply stared at my phone's screen, the reflection of my frozen face. It didn't take long for me to notice the phone was shaking, no, my hands were shaking. I was shaking._ They... went into battle? I mean, I should've guessed it... I heard the war against Satan's army was a hard one. Villages burned, soldiers killed... but was it really so bad they had to take in soldiers still in training? No! I don't want to think about this. I don't want to think about what might have happened._ I shook my head and turned to look at Ayame, who had turned away from me, her arms apparently protectively crossed in front of her chest-area.

"Because of me, you say?" I asked with an annoyed tone. Ayame gave me a dangerous look from the corner of her eye. "Look, I know I have my faults, but we both know you're only using me as a guilt-releaser. I don't really care about it that much as long as you keep your mouth shut about it, but don't come giving me your absurd, stupid theories about your "condition" so you'd get an "okay" from me. I'm not gonna give you an excuse to feel like the good guy," I said with an offensive tone and narrowed my eyes to get the point across. I knew she was listening, even though she didn't reply or even look at me. I could feel it in her aura.

I sat down on my bed, sighing. _Some people are way too stubborn to deal with..._ I let my body relax a bit and fell on my back, my arms thrown lazily over my head and partly on top of the school uniform folded on my bed. I heard slow footsteps and a soft thump when Ayame walked over to her own bed, sitting down. I stared at the sealing for a moment.

"Fine..." I heard Ayame speak between her teeth and turned my face towards her side of the room. A high bookcase blocked my view of her from this angle, but I didn't need to see her face to know how frustrated she was. That "fine" meant that she'd admitted my words were right and it almost made me smirk. She usually didn't admit it at all when she'd been wrong, but this was probably, no, for sure something important to her and she wanted to be honest to herself.

"I'm glad we agree," I said as annoyingly as I could to get out of the somewhat awkward conversation. At least for me this was a very uncomfortable topic to be on, since I didn't handle _feelings_ so well, not mine and not others' either. Ayame hissed at me, but didn't use her energy in anything bigger after that. I chuckled to myself, moving my gaze back to the sealing and following the multiple cracks in it's paintjob to numb my brain for now. I didn't even want to be aware of the other angel's precence right now, if I didn't have to. I didn't want her to remind me of Heaven, my friends, the war, the fallen archangel-

_Wait! That's right, I had something to tell Ayame!_ I bounced up into a sitting position, the look in my eyes giving out my sudden realization. Ayame looked at me lazily, raising her head from her palms.

"I forgot to tell you!" I half-yelled and Ayame raised both of her brows in curiosity. "I... I met someone at the game store today... someone we both know- eh, knew. Well, kinda..." Ayame's hands slowly dropped from even near her face and her posture got better as she began to pay better attention to my words, like she saw something in my being she hadn't seen in a long time. At least that's what my look would be like in that particular situation. "It was... uh, it was Lucifer." I watched Ayame as she suddenly froze, her pupils shrinking to tiny little dots. I just stared at her, waiting for her to snap out of it. I could almost hear the shocked, bitter thoughts running through her head at that moment.

"Lucifer...?" her voice was shaking, but her expression still stayed the same. I nodded and she turned to look at the floor. "Are you... sure?" she looked at me from the corner of her eye and I nodded again, a bit afraid to say another word. I hadn't expected her to be as shocked as she was, but I thought I should've. "But... but how? And why?" Ayame turned her silvery eyes from the floor to my green ones.

"He told me he'd send someone to explain everything to us... We're supposed to meet him tomorrow at McRonald's," I said as casually as I could, trying not to make the situation too bad.

"Y-you spoke with him?! With Lucifer?! Huuh..." Ayame leaned towards my side of the room and I winced back even though she was meters apart from me. "What... what was he like? Was he... demonic or something? Wait, more importantly, why did you agree to anything with him?! He's a demon now, ya'know! He could be tricking us or something!"

"Well, I had no choice! If he and his friends are here it could cause trouble for us! We need to find out more about them, like, how many there are, who they are and what they're doing here. Don't you agree?" I yelled, the slight panic in my voice probably showing a little more than I would've allowed. It probably sounded somewhat comedic, since Ayame seemed to be holding back a snicker.

"At least they probably don't have their magic powers either... probably," Ayame said as she dressed her face into the expression she always wore when thinking – bored-looking eyes and puckered up lips, usually staring into one single place for a long time period.

I sighed. It was good that Ayame took the situation as well as she did, since inside I was in a full panic. I was afraid of everything that awaited us tomorrow, all the truths, lies and past events that would be no doubt popping back into my head all day long. I wished there was a way for me to run this time, too, but I also feared that it was asking a bit too much.

* * *

The next school day seemed to go by slower than the previous ones, which I was both grateful and terrified for. Horrible thoughts of the possible outcomes of the day constantly kept running through my head and it felt like I had way too much time for them, but on the other hand I didn't have to face any of them before school was over.

Sadly (or gladly) at some point the school bell had to ring and soon after that me and Ayame were already heading towards the agreed meeting place. This was surely one of the only times I was genuinely sad that school had ended and it made me have weird conflicts within me.

The way from Sasahaki North to MgRonald's wasn't that long and we managed to arrive there at 16:12. _A little late, but I'm sure that our contact understands. Wait, I forgot, he's most likely a demon, so... he probably won't understand at all. Well, fuck._

We walked inside the MgRonald's, looking around the tables in the hopes of finding the guy we were supposed to meet as soon as possible. There weren't many people on any of the tables and none of them looked that suspicious to me.

"You see him?" Ayame asked. I shook my head as a response.

"I don't think so. He might be running late, so... let's order something for now," I said and headed for the counter. The familiar black-haired, cute guy that Gina so much adored was standing behind it, but I walked over to the cute red-headed girl who was working next to him, since I recognized her face from school. Ayame gave her order to the guy.

"Welcome to MgRonald's! What will it be?" she asked cheerily, ready to type in my order. I gave her a small smile, already digging out my wallet from my school bag.

"A large coke, please," I said and she typed something in the cash register.

"That would be 130 yen, please," she said. I dug out the money and handed it to her and she went to grab my drink. She filled a 0,5l cardboard mug full of the black liquid and handed it to me with the receipt. "Enjoy!"

"Thanks..." I stopped for a while before continuing. "Sorry to bother you while working, but you're Chiho Sasaki, right?" I asked. I usually wasn't the friendly nor talkative type, but she might've known something about our contact, if he'd like, left a message to us or something. It was a little far-fetched, but worth a try.

"Yeah, I am. I can see you're from Sasahaki North, too," she answered, looking around in the nearly empty fast-food place. It was pretty clear any customers wouldn't be bothering her for a while, so I continued talking.

"Yeah, I'm a third year student Hana Wakahisa," I introduced myself as politely as I could, smiling and all, and then continued with my actual business. "Have you by any chance seen-"

"So you're Wakahisa-san?" spoke a voice from my right. I turned my eyes towards the voice, eyes widening just a bit. The one who spoke was the black-haired employee-guy. "I'm Sadao Maou. Urushihara told me you'd be coming here today – he told me you'd be easy to recognize, and I think I get it now." _Wait... that guy's a demon?!_ I couldn't catch Ayame's expression in my line of sight, but I bet she was as shocked as I was.

"Huh?! You-you're-!" I couldn't even finish my own sentence. _Not this again...!_

"I don't think it'd be appropriate to talk during my work shift, so I'd appreciate if you two would wait until five. That's when I get off," he said with an awkward smile and apologetic tone, obviously sorry he couldn't have decided on the time himself.

"Maou-san? What's going on? You know these girls?" Chiho Sasaki asked the guy who'd introduced himself as Sadao Maou, an upset undertone in her voice.

"Uh, I'll explain it to you later, Chii-chan," Maou spoke to the cute little redhead and then moved his attention back to us. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

"No problem, we'll wait – we have lots of homework to finish anyway," Ayame spoke politely. It was the first time I took a glance at her since we ordered and she seemed surprisingly calm and collected. It made me raise a brow, even though not that noticeably. "Come, Hana-chan," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me to our corner table. I sat on the window side and she sat across me, digging out her school books and beginning to write things down in one of her notebooks.

"Who would've thought that... that guy... has some connection with Lucifer," I whispered to Ayame and took out my books as well, looking for an easy assignment to start with and taking a sip of my coke as I did. I looked over to Ayame's side and saw she'd ordered herself the same thing, except in medium.

"Looks can betray you," she simply said without even moving her eyes from the homework she was working on. I pursed my lips a bit for the undeniably boring answer, but sucked it up and began doing my work as well.

* * *

Fifty-seven minutes passed quickly doing homework and in that time both me and Ayame had finished the easiest assignments, and our drinks, too. I didn't usually do my homework properly, if at all, so the teachers should be pleased with my effort today. To be completely honest, it was a good way to keep my thoughts together before chatting with Maou, and I had the feeling it was the same for Ayame.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," the raven-haired guy spoke when he appeared to our table, standing next to it and looking at us with those beautifully red eyes. He had changed his usual MgRonald's employee uniform into a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans and didn't look like himself in my eyes – I always identified his character with that "dashing"-red outfit. Notice the sarcasm. "Can I sit here?" he asked for a place next to Ayame and she immediately made room for him. He sat down next to her on the sofa, keeping a respectful distance.

"So, Sadao Maou... you're a demon too, ain't ya?" I asked with demanding eyes and Ayame seemed to be just studying the situation from the side, leaning her chin against her left hand. Maou seemed to be a little bothered by the question.

"Well... it's a little embarrasing to say like this... but I'm actually the dark lord, Satan, himself," he spoke and scratched the back of his head. _Huh?_

_…_

_HUH?!_

Both me and Ayame jumped back in our seats, almost screaming. I glued my back to the window and stared at the raven-guy with terrified eyes. Ayame had lost her cool completely, looking at Maou- no, Satan, like he was... well, Satan!

"W-wait! Please, just hear me out!" he tried to calm us down, backing a bit away from us on his seat. I felt my pulse getting faster.

"Y-Y-YOU-YOU'RE SATAN?!" Ayame yelled, pointing at Maou with her index finger. "_THE_ SATAN?!"

"Well, yes-"

"THE LEADER OF THE DEMON ARMY?!" I yelled.

"Well, yes-"

"THE ONE WHO FELL OUR WORLD INTO DARKNESS?!"

"Well, yes..."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" me and Ayame yelled at the same time.

"Well... yes."

The three of us just stayed there in silence, all giving each other confused, terrified or flustered looks. What in the name of Hell had we gotten our poor selves into?

Maou was the first person to break the silence.

"People are looking at us funny," Maou said, eyeing the other customers in the MgRonald's. Ayame and I took a little time to collect our thoughts before sitting down normally, looking around the place as well.

The amount of questions and fears inside of me had grown in numbers so humongously I could barely keep myself from bursting. I didn't even know where to start anymore. Luckily Ayame spoke out the first question in my behalf.

"You're not gonna try and kill us, are you?" she asked in a defensive, threatening tone.

"No, I'm not. Promise!" Maou raised both of his hand up as a some sort of defensive or maybe trust inducing motion. "I don't even have any magic right now." That was a relief, if what he was saying was the truth, at least. You never know with demons, or so I've heard, since Lucifer was actually the first one I'd ever met.

"You'd better be telling the truth or I'll murder you in your sleep," Ayame said, leaning threateningly towards Maou. At times like these I thought Ayame was the one I actually should've been afraid of, and reading from Maou's expressions, he thought so too.

"It may not be much coming from me, but I'm actually a pretty trustworthy person," Maou reassured. "Besides, Emilia the Hero is already keeping an eye on me," he said, speaking those words with a disgust or maybe irony of some degree.

"Huh? Hero Emilia is here, too?!" Ayame half-yelled. Maou nodded.

"It's a long story."

Maou explained everything to us very slowly, since we'd been in the dark for so long. He began with the war, how it ended with the Hero killing half of his generals, him fleeing to Tokyo with Alciel through a magic portal the Hero on their tail, starting work at MgRonald's, Lucifer and Olba Meyer joining forces, figuring out a way for demons to use magic by humans' negative emotions and destroying parts of Tokyo, him beating them and taking Lucifer under his roof to be kept an eye on, and finally joining forces with the Hero when fighting against Sariel, who was trying to steal the Hero's sword, Better Half. Me and Ayame stayed completely silent through the whole story, finding it hard to believe our own ears. Could we really trust the demon lord's story...?

"We did notice magic being used here, but thought... well, I at least thought someone had come after us from Heaven," Ayame spoke, still obviously doubtful of Maou's story.

"That's what I thought, too... we never even talked about it, since we have... an agreement," I said, running a hand through my curly hair and looking away for a second. "I didn't want to face the possible angels mad about our... well, let's say stuff happened, and we both wanted to stay as far away from magic users as possible."

"Could you tell me what two angels are doing here in this world? Your story seems interesting as well, and I wanna make sure you're no threat to us, either," Maou spoke with a serious expression and tone, still somehow maintaining a flash of his human form's softness in his eyes.

"I don't trust our story to you without speaking with the Hero first – unlike you, _demon lord_, her we can trust," Ayame replied and I nodded as a confirmation. _Who thought I'd ever be in this ridiculous situation, chatting casually with the horrifying lord Satan about war and heroes and all that stuff, no battle, anger (well, too much anger at least) or anything added. He gives off a weird, warm atmosphere that makes me feel comfortable around him. Maybe it's another demon trick or something, or maybe his first appearance sticks with me still. The guy still feels somehow very misunderstood._

"I guessed you'd want something like that..." Maou said and dug out a flip phone from his pocket. "Wait just a sec, I'll call her now. She might be at work, though, since I don't know her schedule." He picked a number from the phone's memory and called it.

Beep.

Beep.

Bee-

"Hello, Emi? … I need to ask you a favor... … C'mon, it's actually a thing you should know about anyway. … Urushihara found two angels here in Tokyo. … I'm chatting with them right now, so come here. … MgRonald's. … We can meet there, too. … See ya soon." Maou closed the flip phone and slid it into his pocket.

"Well?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"We'll meet up at my apartment," he stated with a warm smile.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**I'm sorry it's a little short again! I had writer's block and honestly, this is the best I could come up with. I was tired while writing, too, so sorry if there's some weird stuff going on. The next chapter will be posted up this week, probably weekend. Hope you liked this chapter and reviews would be very much appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 5 - Mixing white and black

**[A/N]**

**Hello! Here's your new chapter!**

**At this point I'd like to thank everyone who's favorited, followed or reviewed! Thank you so much, I squeal from happiness everytime I notice a new alert on my story! **

**Oh, and thank you BlackWingedTraveler for your critisism and suggestions! Since this is the first story I've ever published, what you wrote really helps me. I actually do have my friend read the story and he spots most of the grammar errors and such, but English is neither of our native tongue, so obviously some parts are left a little... awkward. As for the names, I'm sorry, I have my reasons (no matter how stupid) for not changing them. XD I'll keep your tips in mind for the future, though! Thanks again! c:**

* * *

Chapter 5 – Mixing white and black

Me and Ayame were both very suspicious when Maou told us we'd have to meet the Hero at his apartment – especially Ayame was convinced that it was some kind of a trap. I, however, pointed out that we couldn't know that without going to check it out first. Besides, what would the Dark Lord do with a couple of runaway angels? It's not like we knew much or even have any magic left.

We left MgRonald's with the former demon king and watched as he walked a couple of meters in front of us, walking a bicycle he called "Dullahan" beside him. We couldn't help but chuckle at the choice of name, or the fact that he'd actually named his bike, and deserved a couple of deadly stares for that. The simple stare of those red eyes gave away the fact that that guy _had_ to be a demon.

When we got farther and farther away from the MgRonald's, we began to notice we were entering the poorer parts of Tokyo, the place where only young couples and other moneyless people move. Me and Ayame looked at eachother in confusion as if to ask "Really? This is where the great lord Satan lives now?" Then, before we could say anything...

"Alright, we're here," Maou said with a cheery smile and parked his bike outside a squalid building. It looked old, constricted and like it was about to collapse any minute now. Ayame and I both flinched back.

"A-are you sure it's safe?" I asked as we followed Maou to the dangerous-looking metal stairs.

"Just watch your step," he chuckled and gave us a hand-motion signing that it was alright. He walked up the stairs holding the railing and stopped at the top, waiting for us to follow.

"Ladies first," I joked and shoved Ayame closer to the stairs. She growled and began climbing them somewhat reluctantly and holding on to the railing as well. I listened as the stairs creaked and groaned as she walked to the top. Maou entered the building while Ayame was climbing and then, after debating with myself for a moment, I climbed them up as well, following the other two inside.

The building was just as worn inside as it was outside. The hallway was short and there weren't many apartment doors. Even though there weren't many, considering the size of the place, they couldn't really have more than one, tops two rooms per place. Me and Ayame exchanged looks once more.

"This is where you live?" Ayame asked with a surprised and even a little disappointed tone.

"Yup, me and my roommates," he said, sticking his keys inside the lock of door 201. I didn't know what I was expecting, but maybe something a little more... majestic. He is was a demon lord, after all. "It's not much, but enough for us." He turned the key and opened the door, revealing us the true nature of their living-situation.

Like I expected, it was a one-room apartment. Maou walked inside and we followed him, taking off our shoes at the entrance.

"I'm back!" Maou greeted as he threw his keys on a small table in the middle of the room. I looked around in the room. It was only the size of six tatami mats, no beds, a closet, a small balcony, bathroom and a short row of kitchen counters, cabinets, a fridge and a stove. The kitchen-part was under a window to the hallway, which I was surprised I didn't notice from there.

"Welcome back, Maou-sama," greeted a male voice from the kitchen counters. I couldn't see him properly, since Maou was standing in front of me. I however could see the two other people inside the small apartment. In front of an old-looking laptop at the side of the room sat a young guy with purple hair, who I immediately recognized as Lucifer, and at the small table sat a young woman with long, rosy hair. I guessed that must've been the Hero Emilia, since I hadn't seen her in person before. "How was work?" the male continued.

"Uh, it was fine... except for when Chiho-"

"Alright, I don't wanna hear about your day! You know I'm here for your emergency call or whatever," the rose-head spoke. She indeed seemed to be the Hero.

"I thought you were here for free dinner," came Lucifer's nonchalant answer.

"No one asked you, NEET," the rose-head shot and turned to look at me and Ayame. Lucifer only groaned like he was too tired to answer. Maou moved away from in front of us and sat at the table. "Nice to meet you, I'm Emilia Justina. Well, currently I'm called Emi Yusa," the woman spoke with a cheery tone and we walked a bit closer to her, so we could be seen properly from every part of the apartment. I thought I caught Lucifer looking at us from the corner of his eye, too.

"We're honored to meet you, Hero Emilia. You can call me Ayame Honda, and her name's Hana Wakahisa," Ayame spoke politely and bowed as a greeting. I watched what she did and when I realized I was being introduced, I hastily bowed as well.

"Nice to meet you," I said and twirled a white curl around my finger.

"So, we were wondering-"

"It's YOU!" came a sharp yell from the kitchen counters and a finger pointed at me. "I thought your voice was familiar!" I blinked in confusion as I looked at the finger, slowly moving my gaze to the pointer's face. _Oh no._ My jaw dropped when I noticed that the guy Maou had previously spoken to was someone I'd already met. A tall guy with blond hair and golden-brown eyes. _That... that's Alciel? Oh no, oh no, oh no...! This is bad!_ My heart began racing fast when I started gathering looks from everyone inside the small apartment.

"Ashiya? You know her?" Maou asked in confusion and looked at the tall male.

"Oh, DO I!" he groaned and pulled away his pointing finger. _No way, this isn't happening. That isn't the same guy, he can't be!_ I backed away a step without even noticing. "SHE'S the one who STOLE from me at the store!"

"_You_ stole from Ashiya? Ahahahaha! That's great!" came a satisfied laugh from the computer.

"W-well... I," I began, but got cut off by Ayame.

"You did WHAT?!" she screamed into my ear and squeezed her hands into fists. I didn't dare to look at her, because I knew what kind of a look she had on her face. It was the one I became very familiar with in my years of being a soldier – the one that told me to run. Fast.

"Well... it was only 500 yen! It's not that big of a deal, really!" I yelled at the blond man with a panicked expression.

"ONLY 500 yen?" he looked terrified, over exaggerating his statement by pressing a hand dramatically against his chest. "Do you even know how much stuff you can buy with that?!" he yelled.

"I was hungry and didn't have any money with me! What'd you expect me to do?!" I yelled. "And how'd you even notice I stole from you? It was _500 yen_!"

"I'd expect you to starve! And I take good care of our low incomes, every yen counts, thank you very much!"

"ALRIGHT! That's enough!" Maou yelled, stopping our heated argument. I hadn't even noticed I'd stepped so close to the tall male and he probably hadn't realized he'd done the same. My face was heated from rage and panic and I backed off, defeated. I crossed my arms and looked away from my adversary, pouting like a little kid.

"Hana-chan, return the money to the demon," Ayame demanded with a scary voice. I flinched at her words and dug out my wallet, handing over a 500 yen bill without looking at the blond.

"Hmph," the male gnarled as he snatched the bill from my hand. "I thought angels were supposed to be the _good guys,_" he added to his previous noise and I shot a stare at him.

"Tell it to that thing at the computer," I pointed out, pointing my hand towards Lucifer.

"I don't count," the purple-headed male said with a bored tone, turning away from his computer screen to take part in the conversation, immediately taking a look at me and Ayame. "Hey, I know you," he said while looking at Ayame. "You were a group leader in the army, weren't ya?" Maou, Emilia and the demon general Maou had called Ashiya all turned to look at Lucifer and then slowly turned their gazes towards Ayame. The silver-eyed angel next to me simply nodded, narrowing her eyes when she looked at the fallen one.

Ayame moved her eyes from Lucifer to the Hero, who locked eyes with her. Ayame took a deep breath before speaking and spread a warm smile on her face.

"Like I was saying earlier... me and Hana-chan," Ayame paused to glare at me before continuing, apparently still pissed off about my behaviour, "came here wondering if what Satan Jacob told us about you guys entering this world is anywhere near the truth. Obviously we couldn't trust his word alone."

"Yeah, I don't see a reason why he'd lie," the Hero said pretty casually and leaned her chin against her hand, looking at Maou from the corner of her eye. "It's weird, but he's been a pretty trustworthy guy here... _as far as I know._" Ayame and I both blinked before looking at Maou in confusion. The situation was weird for us too, to say the least.

"Told ya," Maou confirmed with a smirk.

"How dare you even doubt my master's words, you pests!" Ashiya yelled while pointing a finger at us, again.

"Just let it go, Ashiya – they had a good reason to," Maou said. Ashiya turned to look at Maou, slowly dropping his hand and going back to cooking. "So... now that you know our story and can trust in it, too," Maou carefully began, "it's time for us to hear yours. Who exactly are you, when and how did you come here and most importantly, what are you doing here?" he asked the questions with a serious tone, laying both of his hands on the table. We looked at eachother, thinking about where we should even begin. "Oh, sit down, if you want to," he added with a soft smile. I nodded and sat next to the Hero, back facing to Lucifer's. Ayame sat at the end of the table closest to the door and we took off our school bags from our shoulders.

"I'm interested in this, too," Emilia admitted.

"Well... where should we start?" I looked at Ayame for support.

"We... we both belonged to Heaven's army – she belonged in a battle group I was the leader of..." Ayame began, clearly not wanting to speak about the whole thing. "I went by the name Audiana then."

"We... kinda left Heaven during the war against you guys," I said, reluctantly looking at Maou and Ashiya behind his back. "We had no idea you'd ever come here – or that we'd even meet you." Ayame nodded as a confirmation to my words.

"We've been living here for much longer than you guys – about two years, I think? We used all of our magic in the beginning to have ourselves all the necessary stuff to survive here," Ayame told.

"You were in the army... so... you're... war deserters?" I sensed the hate in Emilia's words.

"Kinda..." I admitted, embarrasment painted clearly on my face. Ayame didn't dare to look at anyone in the eye and I followed her example, staring at the top of the table. Usually I didn't even care about the war, like I didn't care about most things back in our world, but everyone here had fought in the war except for us, even if on the opposite sides. "To my defense... I didn't have the necessary training to survive there anyway..." I muttered, hoping no one would hear my desperate words.

"Uh... Did you take part-time jobs to survive, like us?" Maou broke the awkward silence, rubbing the back of his head with a cheery smile on his face. I nodded.

"We did, but we're both pretty bad at keeping a job... we've been working at several places, libraries and nearby stores, but don't usually get farther than the first paycheck..." I giggled awkwardly. "We live in our school's dormitory and mostly off of support money... and Ayame sells her paintings online, but that doesn't give us too much money either."

"Dinner's ready!" came Ashiya's voice, saving us from the awkward conversation. I didn't think I'd ever be so glad to hear his simple words.

"Great, let's eat!" Maou clapped his hands together. "Oh, would you care to join us?" he pointed the question to us.

"It isn't too much trouble, is it?" Ayame asked, smiling.

"Not at all," Maou said. I watched as Ashiya filled soup plates with noodles and some vegetables.

"Well, thanks," I said, bowing my head politely to Maou. I didn't usually bother to be too polite, but I still felt way too embarrased about everything.

"Finally, some food... I'm starving," Lucifer complained as he crawled over from the computer to the table. He sat in the empty spot between me and Ayame, turning to subtly look at me._ Is something bothering him? Maybe he does remember me, after all._ "Oh, right, now I remember!" he practically yelled as Ashiya placed chopsticks and plates filled with noodles in front of everyone. I was right.

"You remember _what_?" Emilia asked with an annoyed tone, glaring at the fallen angel next to me.

"Your name's Drenumi, right?" Lucifer asked, ignoring the rose-head's presence. He took the chopsticks in his hand, still looking at me. I gave him an unsure nod. "Ahh, it's been bothering me since yesterday... I knew I'd seen you somewhere, too."

"Wait... So your story about meeting Lucifer wasn't made up?" Ayame raised a brow.

"You thought I made it up?" I asked, pissed off at the question.

"You made it into a story...?" Lucifer asked, holding back a laugh.

"Well, n-no! Someone just asked me where I'd been all day, and-"

"Huh? You guys know each other?" Maou asked, pointing at us one at a time.

"Well, I kinda raced her once," Lucifer simply said.

"Pretty poorly, if you ask me..." I muttered, annoyed by the topic.

"As if – I was holding back, too, and you still only barely kept up with me," the fallen angel chuckled.

"Shut up," I said.

"Let's eat before it gets cold," Ashiya demanded, sitting in the last empty spot, next to Maou.

"For once a good idea," Lucifer replied and put some of the noodles in his mouth.

* * *

The conversation at the dinner table went pretty solid – Ashiya and Maou finally got to tell about their days and Emilia even told about her's. Apparently she was a phone service lady nowadays. We already knew Maou was working at MgRonald's, but also learned about Ashiya being a "loyal house-husband", as Lucifer called him, to which Ashiya replied the purple-haired demon to be a "useless hikikomori." The insults made me giggle even though I didn't take too much part in the conversation. Emilia and Maou's back and forth insults also made me think if there was some unresolved sexual tension between them, but didn't dare say a word. Ayame seemed to go along with the conversation well as it went, since she was much more social than I.

Lucifer was the first to finish his meal, dumping his plates into the kitchen-sink and returning to his apparently usual spot in front of the computer. _He kinda reminds me of myself, to be honest._

"You could've at least rinsed your plate, you know," Ashiya hissed at the one in front of the laptop.

"Yeah, yeah..." he muttered as an aswer, obviously not paying attention at all. The computer had already swallowed him inside it's world. Ashiya sighed, but didn't bother to argue, like he knew it was useless.

"I'm kinda curious... what was Lucifer like before his fall?" Emilia asked slyly, pointing her question to me and Ayame. Lucifer threw a deadly stare at her.

"We didn't know him that well, I only met him a few times during some official meetings and stuff. To me, he doesn't seem that different..." Ayame took a look at the purple-haired boy staring at her with an annoyed expression. "...Well, he wasn't a jobless bum then."

"I thought he was nuts when I first met him. He almost pushed me _and_ himself out of the sky," I giggled. "I couldn't imagine him doing the same the way he is now." I reminded myself of the image of the panting Lucifer running away from a cashieer.

"How about you two shut up," he growled. Usually angels with lower ranks should follow his command, even now that he is fallen (it's a custom among angels), but me and Ayame couldn't hold back our chuckles. The boy turned back to his computer screen with a frown on his face, acting as if he wasn't following the conversation anymore.

"I'm sorry," I managed to say between chuckles.

"Huh, so he hasn't changed?" Emilia took a look at Lucifer. "How boring."

"I'm not here for your entertainment," Lucifer hissed.

"Now where have I heard this before...?" Maou mumbled to himself.

"Well, we should probably get going," Ayame said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Mmh, I should too. We should probably exchange numbers before that, though. Incase something comes up," Emilia said.

"Agreed," Ayame replied. Soon four phones began their journey between Maou, Emilia, Ayame and myself as we wrote down our numbers in every device they already weren't in. When the exchange was done, everyone except me put away their phones and Ayame and Emilia were already ready to go. I, however, turned to look at the guy in front of the computer one last time. I smiled and turned myself around, crawling next to him at the computer. He gave me a surprised look.

"Hey, Luci- uh, Urushihara-kun, you have a phone, right? Could I have your number, too?" I asked, an uncharacteristic smile on my lips.

"Huh? Why?" he replied, tilting his head.

"Well, just in case. Like, if I can reach no one else... and also, because I want it," I said. Being this bold wasn't like me at all, but I always had my reasons for doing what I did. I tried not to care about the odd looks I received from the rest of the group. Lucifer blinked in confusion before he could come up with words to answer me.

"...Sure," he said, taking the phone I was offering him and writing down his number.

"You can ask mine from Maou-san," I said, smiling, and got up after receiving my phone. I grabbed my school bag from the floor, facing the others once more. I couldn't help but blush when I saw everyone staring at me with wide eyes. "A-anyways... bye," I stuttered, walking through the room and to the door, being the first to exit the apartment. I thought I heard the others say their goodbyes as well, but I was too embarrased to stay and listen.

* * *

We exited the building and after watching Emilia stumble down the stairs, having tripped at the fifth step down, we went our separate ways from her, waving as a goodbye. After she was gone we headed for our familiar school and it's even more familiar dormitory room 186. At first we walked in silence, but of course Ayame just had to ask...

"...What was that about?"

"Huh? W-what was what about?" I played dumb, turning to look away from her.

"You know what I'm talking about. Why'd you ask for Luci- Urushihara-kun's number?" Ayame asked, apparently having trouble calling Lucifer by his "Earth-name" as well. "You don't _still_ have a crush on him, right?"

"I never had a crush on him to begin with!" I half-yelled and felt as my cheeks turned red from her words. _Why does my body react to embarrasment so easily? Damn you, stupid genes..._ "A-and I asked for the number because... well..." I didn't know how to phrase my answer. "Well, I kinda saw him play Hearthrock." Ayame blinked.

"Really, now..." she began, annoyed, "you asked a demon's number, specifically the fallen archangel's number, to play that stupid card game with him?" I nodded. "You're an idiot."

"Well, I really like that game..." I watched as Ayame placed a hand against her forehead and sighed. "Besides, we just exchanged numbers with Satan himself. I don't think it's that bad, ya'know?"

"Yes, but there are circumstances- ah, whatever. I'm too tired for this," Ayame said. She did actually look somewhat worn out. "What... What do you think about all this?" she asked after a short silence.

"Well, I don't know... They seemed like... I dunno, normal guys?" I scratched my head in thought. Ayame nodded.

"I think so too... Ugh, this is all so weird," she replied.

"We should probably sleep on it before thinking about it too much," I suggested. She yawned and nodded, clearly already dreaming about a pillow under her head.

_I'ts not like I'm not confused. It's not like I'm not afraid, either. All of this happened so suddenly. Just a couple of days ago we were like normal high school girls chatting about boys and gossiping._ I'd already almost forgotten the time I spent in Heaven, the place humans often refered to as "paradise". I'd never found it to be too spectacular, but it was more peaceful than most places. If your sin was too terrible to bear, you were cast out as a fallen angel. That way only the ones deserving of a place there stayed.

When Heaven stopped being Heaven for me, I fleed, terrified of everything that would happen or had already happened. When I first saw Lucifer at that gamestore, I was sure I would be just as terrified as I used to be, but... I wasn't. I was scared, but not like I was then. Not when I was... alone.

I turned to look at Ayame walking beside me. _That's right. I'm not alone, I haven't been alone for a while. That couldn't be the reason, could it? Am I really so weak I can't function without other people around me...?_ I laid my eyes to the tarmac, ignoring the worried gaze my friend displayed me.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**I just_ can not_ make the chapters longer than this, can I? Oh, well... they're not that short, I guess. The next chapter will be up on... Tuesday? Yeah, Tuesday's good! See you then!**


	7. Chapter 6 - Lies have consequences

**[A/N]**

**Here's your new chapter! Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Lies have consequences

Waking up early in the morning was as hard as it always was. I kept turning off the alarm I'd set on my phone and in the end Ayame had to pull me out of bed – literally. She grabbed me by my feet and pulled me on the floor and I almost didn't get up from that, either._ I think yesterday was way too eventful for me to bear._

After a lot of struggles on both mine and Ayame's side I finally got up, changed into my school uniform and entered the school building. If only I'd known what was waiting for me and I would've slept through the whole day.

"Good morning..." Etsuko hissed from between her teeth the minute she saw me in the hallway._ Shit._ I'd totally forgotten I'd accidentally left her at the game store the day before.

"Ah... morning," I waved with a forced smile on my lips. _Why is Ayame nowhere to be seen when I need her the most?_ I tried disappearing into the masses of students.

"C'mere for a sec," Etsuko growled and grabbed my arm, pulling me into an empty corner with her. _Why am I getting pulled so much nowadays? My arm can't take it if this goes on._ "You left me alone in that stupid store, you asshole! What do you have to say for yourself?" Etsuko snapped, letting go of my arm and making threatening hand motions. I instinctively raised both of my hands to cover myself from possible hits.

"L-listen, I have an explanation," I began, but stopped before I could gab farther. I only just realized I had _an_ explanation, but I didn't have an explanation _for her_. Etsuko would've thought I'd gone crazy if I even tried telling her the truth. Besides, I didn't even like her! _Why would I even consider telling her the truth in the first place? I should be glad that I left her in that store._

"You do? Well spit it out then!" she yelled like a cartoon character and crossed her arms in an annoyed manner. I tried to come up with a solid explanation, waving my hands slowly in the air as if motioning me putting my thoughts together.

"Umm, there was this guy-"

"A guy?! You should've said so, then!" Etsuko's mood suddenly changed and she grabbed both of my arms, making me flinch back. An excited expression had appeared on her makeup filled face.

"H-huh?" I began, stuttering. "You're letting it go just like that?" I pushed her arms off myself.

"Well, sure, if it was a guy! I know for a fact you haven't had a boyfriend for the whole time you've attended Sasahaki North – of course I'll forgive small missteps like that if it's for a greater cause!" Etsuko cheered. I blinked in confusion.

"A greater cause...?" was all I could come up with to say. "You mean you think he's my boyfriend or something?" I felt my cheeks heat up at the supposition. Etsuko's cheery mood died down immediately after those words.

"Hmm, he's not? Well, I guess you have some explaining to do, after all," she threatened and crossed her arms again. I bet she was just after some juicy gossip or something.

"Ah, eh, calm down, Etsuko-san... it was just... umm... I-I..." I stuttered, trying to make up a solid lie. "That's it!" I realized. Etsuko raised a brow at my sudden change of tone. "I hadn't met him before because – umm – I know him from a game! From Realm of Warship! _Yeah_. And then when I met him it was so – umm – surprising that... I totally forgot about you!" I smiled a broken smile. Etsuko sighed in disappointment.

"Listen, you don't have to make up lies... if you were just trying to get me back for keeping you waiting yesterday, I-"

"No! That's not it, I promise!"_ Why the heck am I trying to assure her of my lie? What she was about to say would work just as well. I guess her wrath must scare me more than any demon._ "I just really wanted to talk to him!"

"Talk to who?" came a familiar voice from behind my back. I turned around and felt as someone suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. "Hello~, Hana-chan!" Gina giggled and rubbed her cheek against my hair. I pushed her off when I realized what was happening.

"Gah! Don't suffocate me!" I panicked and checked if my hair was alright with one of my hands.

"Oh, sorry. So~, what were you guys talking about?" she asked and wrapped her arms gently around me as I turned to face Etsuko again. Gina laid her chin on my head and chuckled warmly. It seemed she was having a great day. Good for her...

"Oh, nothing... just Hana-san's new boyfriend," Etsuko said and smirked devilishly. _She did no just say that. No, that's the one thing you do not do! You don't tell Gina about the boys you hang out with, or it's the last mistake you'll do. After that you're under a constant bombing of very awkward and personal questions. Damn you, Etsuko!_

"WHAAAATT?! You have a boyfriend?!" Gina screamed into my ear and I freed myself from her grasp, backing away several steps. I shot a deadly glare at the still smirking Etsuko.

"N-no! I don't have a boyfriend, you lunatic! Etsuko-san made it up!" I defended, squeezing my hands into fists.

"Oh? Then why are you blushing?" Etsuko asked. She just couldn't stop putting more gas in the fire, could she?

"You asshole... you'll pay for this," I threatened the brunette and grabbed one of her sleeves.

"Yeah, yeah – after class," she freed herself easily and headed for her classroom. "Have fun~."

"After class you'll tell me EVERYTHING!" Gina insisted. I nodded in defeat. A wide smile spread across her face as she hopped away, her school bag bouncing funnily against her hip.

_Curse you, Etsuko...!_

* * *

My arts' class went by fast. I got to witness as Ayame sulked about the grade of her last painting, even though it was really high for most people's standards, and it made me giggle. I actually giggled so loudly that the teacher came over to our table to see if everything was alright. I didn't usually get to see Ayame, my _great_ commander, sulk like a little girl, so the sight made me more than happy.

When the class was finally over and we got out of the classroom, another surprise was waiting for me outside. Me and Ayame were chatting about our homework when another familiar voice from behind interrupted us.

"Uh, excuse me..." the voice said. We immediately stopped walking and turned around, facing the cute redhead with a nice figure. "Wakahisa-senpai?" Chiho Sasaki spoke.

"Sasaki-san, hi," I greeted and even waved my hand at her. There were confused expressions on our faces.

"Hi. Um. I hope I'm not bothering you?" the girl spoke. She seemed a little nervous, she was even fiddling with her skirt's hem. I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.

"No, of course you aren't. What is it that you have in mind?" Ayame asked with her usual friendly smile. "Is it about Maou-san?" she continued. Ah, so Ayame seemed to have picked up on her behaviour at MgRonald's, too. I thought she might have, but hadn't thought about it too hard. My guesses were immediately confirmed when Sasaki's cheeks turned bright pink.

"Uh, yeah... I just was a little surprised when you left together yesterday. I was just wondering – uh, how do you know him?" she asked, still nervous. It appeared she was afraid we were in a close relationship with the guy or something like that. Which, of course, wasn't the case at all.

"Ah, we were just talking to him about... Um, well, you see... We sold him a painting," Ayame made up, raising one of her index fingers. I felt like facepalming.

"What? You did?" Sasaki spoke. She seemed suspicious, and for a reason. Those guys couldn't afford even a cheap painting, I mean they could barely afford food. What was Ayame thinking?

"Y-yeah! Well, his roommate kinda bought it from me... but... umm, he didn't have any money with him, so we agreed to meet up with Maou-san to agree on the payment," Ayame made up as she spoke. "Then when we couldn't come to an agreement about the price we kinda ended up eating dinner at his place!" Was she sweating?

"Uh... alright then," Sasaki raised a brow. "What kind of painting did you sell?" Ayame opened her mouth like she was about to speak, but no words came out.

"It's a girl!" I suddenly yelled. "A redheaded girl... It... it actually kinda looks like you." The painting was one Ayame had actually done. She hadn't sold it yet, so she kept it under her bed. It was one of the first ones she painted here, so it probably had some emotional value to her.

"I-it does?" Sasaki blushed at my words. A cute smile formed on her round face when some sort of realization hit her. "Oh, I get it now! Hahaha! I guess I was worried for nothing," she chuckled.

"Yeah...!" I agreed with a lazy thumbs up. "Well... our next class is about to begin, so-"

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to keep you here, Wakahisa-senpai, Honda-senpai," she bowed to us one at a time. "I guess I'll see you around!"

"Haha, no worries. We'll see you around, too," Ayame waved at the girl as she hurried for her classes. We just stood there and stared into the direction she'd ran. We didn't dare to even breathe before she had disappeared from our sight.

Then we both sighed at the exact same time.

"Woah, that was close..." Ayame said, relaxing her body a little. I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," I replied. "She probably doesn't know about Maou and the rest."

"Probably," Ayame agreed. We turned around and began heading for our next class. I was the one to break the very short silence.

"Oh, that reminds me... I have to explain things to Gina-chan as well," I sighed. Ayame just blinked in surprise and corrected the position of her school bag. My bag had started to feel heavy against my shoulder as well and Ayame's action made me copy her.

"How come?" she asked.

"Well... Etsuko-san kinda made her think I'm going out with Urushihara-kun..." I answered a little reluctantly. Ayame stared at me before starting to giggle hysterically. "What?" I hissed.

"I-it just makes so much sense," she managed to say. I gritted my teeth together.

"Not you, too..." I placed my hand against my forehead.

"Sorry. I'll stop now," she said and held back the rest of her giggles. I appreciated her when she was like that. She knew when I didn't want to make a big deal out of things. "So what are you gonna tell her?"

"I wish I knew..." I said as we entered the classroom.

* * *

When the classes were over we met Gina in the main lobby. She immediately started asking guestions about me and my "boyfriend," but I bought myself more time by promising to explain everything to her in detail after we'd eaten. She wanted to go to MgRonald's again, but knowing that Maou worked there me and Ayame both immediately voted against it.

"How about we go to SFC for a change?" I suggested with an innocent smile. I saw from the corner of my eye when Ayame gave me a surprised look. What?

"Huh? That's new. Well, why the heck not!" Gina agreed to my suggestion, much to Ayame's distress. I watched as her worried expression grew to a horrified one.

We walked closer and closer to the Sentucky Fried Chicken and Ayame seemed more and more nervous every step. She was walking a little behind us and I just couldn't grasp on the reason why she was so flustered. I slowed my pace just the slightest bit to walk besides her, leaning in a bit closer to her so she'd hear my whispering.

"What is it?" I whispered. She looked at me like I was a mentally disabled person. The look was scarily similar to the one Lucifer once gave me.

"Do you even realize what you've done?" Ayame grabbed my arm. Yeah, go ahead, grab me – that's what everyone does. I brushed off her hand and hissed at her. "Sariel works at that place," she said with a low volume._ Oh God. It all makes sense now! I'm an idiot!_ I hadn't even thought about the archangel since he wouldn't even recognize me. I didn't think I'd ever even seen him in person! But Ayame had actually met the archangel. She would've been recognized the minute she walked in.

My expression had turned into pure shock. Suddenly my feet stopped walking on their own and I just stood there, frozen in time. I saw Ayame and Gina behind an invisible wall, telling me to keep on walking. I backed away a step. _We can't go to that place._

I was brought back into reality by Ayame's hand slapping me gently on the cheek. I shook my head as soon as I woke up from my thoughts and looked at her, apologetic. She simply sighed and turned to look at Gina.

"She just spaced out," she smiled at her and pushed me into motion again. We kept on walking towards the fast food place without another stop. Ayame pulled me a little closer before I could catch up on Gina again. "Listen... It'll be alright. He might not even be at work right now," she said before letting me go and running up ahead. I shook my head again before I caught up to the others.

* * *

Unlike the MgRonald's on the other side of the street, the SFC was full of people. Most of the tables were full and the line to the counters was longer than I'd preferred. I hated places packed with people, but at least we could disappear into the crowd if we happened to see Sariel.

"Wow, this place is packed!"_ Thank you for stating the obvious, Gina, my love._

"I don't like it," I replied with a childish tone.

"There's not that much stuff you _do_ like, Hana-chan," Ayame chuckled.

"Well, there is that guy you're supposed to tell me about..." Gina began, stepping closer to me in the line and entering my personal space.

"AFTER we're done eating..." I growled and pushed her back. "Let's order now," I said with a moody tone of voice when we got to the counter.

We ordered our meals and looked for a table. Ayame was the one to order last and she had to wait for her meal to be brought to our table, since they ran out of ready-made ones on her turn. We chose a table next to the front windows, surprised it was still free.

"So, umm... Anything new in your lives?" Gina asked, clearly trying her best not to bring up the boyfriend-thing before our meals were gone. "Did you hand over your history project, Ayame-chan?"

"I did. I hope it's good enough for the teacher. I really tried my hardest to make it perfect," Ayame replied and leaned her chin against her palms.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Gina said, cheery, and took a sip of her orange soda.

"Yeah. He's been giving me good grades lately, but I still worry..." Ayame chuckled.

"You're so paranoid," I yawned. Suddenly something very peculiar popped into my mind. "So, how'd Nobuko-san's date go?" I got weird stares from the other two girls.

"How come you wanna know?" Gina asked with both of her brows raised.

"Huh? I dunno, I'm just curious," I replied.

"Aww! Our little Hana-chan is growing up! And she's learning the ways of gossip, too~!" Ayame joked.

"Shut up," I chuckled and leaned my elbow against the table, placing my cheek against my hand.

"Well," Gina began, brushing back her electric-blue hair, "she called me yesterday evening after her date, and..."

"Your meal is here," spoke a male voice. Before I could even blink Ayame had suddenly dived under our table. I just stared at the empty spot she was sitting on a couple of seconds ago before moving my gaze to the man who brought her food. Purple eyes were staring at Ayame's empty spot on the sofa. "Ah, I know I can be quite a shock to the ladies," the short male suddenly stated, his blue hair flowing smoothly with his movements, "but I'm afraid my heart is already stolen by a classic beauty from across the street." He spoke the words with a tone so disgustingly flirty it made me back off on my seat.

It took some time for me to come into the conclusion that that man was Sariel – that's why Ayame had suddenly cowered under the table. I just stared at him for a second before I could get any words out of my mouth. _That guy's an archangel?_

"Just... leave it there. She's a little shy," I said with an awkward smile. The man shrugged his shoulders and placed the tray on Ayame's spot at the table, saying his goodbyes and leaving for his duties again. The meeting felt so anticlimactic somehow. I almost wished something more interesting would've happened.

"Is he gone...?" Ayame whispered from under the table.

"He's gone," I lazily confirmed. Ayame climbed up from under the table, blushing deeply when she noticed many of the other customers staring at her with weirded out looks.

"What the hell was that all about?" Gina demanded. I turned to look at her. _Oh shit, I forgot she was even here._

"Uh, I know that guy and... Um, he's umm..." Ayame stuttered, "he's a family friend I'd rather not talk to." She gave Gina an awkward smile, much like the one I'd given Sariel only moments ago.

"What the hell? I thought your families live far away somewhere," Gina said.

"They do, but my parents used to live here... and, um, I was a lot younger then... He's just kind of a creep," Ayame serried. She looked around her in a jumpy manner, scanning the area for the blue-haired angel. I blinked at her explanation, turning to look at Gina's face to see if she bought it. Surprisingly enough, she did.

"Oh," she simply said and turned her attention to me. "HANA-CHAN, YOU'RE DONE EATING!" she suddenly screamed and I jumped back on my seat. _Holy shit, what got into her?!_ I looked at my tray – I'd eaten my meal away without noticing. "Now! Tell me everything about the dude Etsuko-san was talking about!" she demanded and almost pushed me off the sofa.

"ALRIGHT, alright! Just calm down already!" I replied. She took a deep breath and pulled back on her side of the sofa, looking at me with excited eyes. I sighed and regained my posture.

"He, um... I know him from Realm of Warship," I gave her the same lie I'd given Etsuko. "I met him in real life for the first time at the game store... and we're not dating or anything, for your information."

"What does he look like? Is he cute? What's his name?" Gina seemed to be bouncing on her seat. I leaned back in mine.

"Uh... He's short... He has purple hair and eyes. His name's Hanzo Urushihara..." I looked at Ayame for help but only got an amused smirk. I growled inside.

"Woow, that's so cool... sounds like your type. Hey, we should all play together! I just downloaded that game a couple of days ago!" Gina explained. I looked at her with a surprised expression.

"You did?" I looked at Ayame for a second too. She seemed to be enjoying our conversation a lot... _Wait, when did her meal disappear?_ "What's with you and fast food?" I spoke my thoughts out loud.

"Don't change the subject!" Gina demanded.

"Well... I don't know if playing together would be a good-"

"I won't take no for an answer!" the blue-haired girl interrupted. I sighed and placed a hand against my forehead.

"Fine, I'll call him later today..."

"Yay~!" Gina cheered and went back to her meal.

* * *

The day seemed longer than the days before. Gina couldn't help her curiosity about Lucifer and asked me questions I hadn't ever even thought about. It all made me feel so embarrased. If only she'd known who the guy she was so curious about actually was and she'd realized the situation she, or, well, partly even I was putting myself into. Maybe then she would've been cool about it, like Ayame.

I was so glad when we finally got back to our dorm room. We changed out of our school uniforms and I dressed myself into a green and with striped top and a black skirt, ready to dive into the world of Hearthrock. I wanted to calm myself down from the oddly social day before calling Lucifer about the stupid gaming thing Gina got me to agree to. Of course I couldn't have my peace when I wanted it the most.

"Here," Ayame said as she threw the painting of the red-haired girl to me. I caught it with a surprised expression and looked at it. The emotionless girl stared straight into my eyes, and to be honest, scared me a little bit.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked and held up the painting.

"You are going to go and deliver it to the demons' stronghold," Ayame said and took the computer from my studying table. "You need to take it to them to support our lie to Sasaki-san. She might visit there and ask about the missing painting otherwise."

"Wait, why me?"

"Because I say so," Ayame said with eyes colder than ice.

"You're just being lazy, aren't you?" I sighed.

"Yup," she replied with a dull voice and sat down on her bed, starting up the laptop.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**I left it a little shorter than I first intended to, because I felt like all the dialogue was a bit much. I was supposed to write about Hana going to Villa Rosa, too, but I didn't wanna cramp up too much different situations in this single chapter. I'll write the next chapter on Friday. Hope you liked this one and I'd be glad to receive some reviews!**


	8. Chapter 7 - Your friends: My friends

**[A/N]**

**Here's the next chapter. Now I'm gonna collapse on my bed...**

* * *

Chapter 7 – Your friends = my friends

The time was nearing six o'clock when I finally arrived to the apartment building called "Villa Rosa Sasazuka." I carried the painting I was supposed to give to Maou and his generals against my side, pressing my elbow against it just enough so it wouldn't fall down.

I climbed up the dangerous staircase holding my free hand on the railing, watching every step I took until I reached the top. I opened the door and walked into the hallway dividing the two pairs of apartments from eachother.

I was about to knock on the door of apartment 201 when I suddenly heard another door open. I turned to look towards the creeky sound and saw a young girl dressed in a traditional kimono. She looked cute in it, but wasn't that sort of clothing kind of outdated? She was short too, around my height, and kept her dark hair in a cute ponytail on the side of her head. I raised a brow at the sight.

The girl looked at me with a somewhat curious expression, closing her door with a gentle push and supposedly walking over to me. She gave me a warm smile.

"I don't believe we've met – my name is Suzuno Kamazuki. Nice to meet you..." she trailed off, waiting for me to fill in the blank that was my name.

"Hana Wakahisa," I said and returned her smile. "Maou-san mentioned you when we spoke. It's nice to meet you in person, too." The girl, in our world named Crestia Bell, was told to have first been the demons' enemy like Emilia. The church sent her to assassinate the bunch, but in the end she decided otherwise. _I don't know what it is that stops everyone from hating them too much. Maybe it's because they're poor?_

"Ah, so you're Wakahisa-dono. Emilia called me about your meeting, but I'm afraid I was at the town that time, so I couldn't take part in it all. But like you said, it is nice to meet up in person," she spoke with a monotone voice, a soft smile never leaving her face. _She speaks so formally... It really reminds me of the old japanese samurai-movies. I don't really care for them, but Ayame's very interested in japanese culture and other stuff like that and often drags me to watch those things with her._

"Yeah..." I replied, turning for the door. "Oh, you didn't happen to be going to the same addres, did you?"

"Actually, I am," Kamazuki spoke. "I check on my neighbours from time to time... just in case." _Ah, it makes sense that she isn't being _too_ trustful towards the demons. I probably shouldn't be either, but for some reason it's hard not to be._ "What's that in your hands?" She pointed at the painting pressed between my left arm and side.

"It's the reason I'm here," I chuckled, slightly lifting up the painting. "Well, I'd better-"

"Just come inside, the door is open," spoke a voice loudly from the inside. "We already know you're there." I backed away from the door, a light shade of pink appearing on my cheeks. I should've realized they could hear us speaking through the door – the place was a wreck and I bet every sound you made here was heard by somebody else.

I wrapped my hand around the door handle and opened the door, entering the apartment and giving room for Kamazuki to enter as well. She walked past me into the room after taking off her shoes. I closed the door after us, taking off my shoes and walking straight over to Maou. He was sitting against the farthest wall and reading a manga book. Urushihara was on his usual spot at the computer and Ashiya was doing the dishes.

"Here," I plainly said as I handed the painting to Maou. He took it with a weirded out look on his face, eyeing the painting.

"What's this for?" he asked somewhat clueless.

"Just... a gift," I sighed, too tired to explain and looked around the room. "You're welcome."

"Thanks, I guess," he said and stood up. He placed his manga on the table in the middle of the room and took the painting better in his hands to look at it. I noticed Ashiya was looking at it from the dishes, too.

"Is that all you came here for?" Ashiya asked, putting a cleaned up plate in the drying cabinet.

"Well, pretty much yeah..." I turned to look at Urushihara. I should've asked him about the gaming session, but for some reason I couldn't get a word out of my mouth. Well, the whole thing was kind of embarrasing.

"Do you wanna stay for coffee?" Maou asked with a cheery smile, looking to place the painting somewhere.

"I didn't know you could afford a coffee machine," Kamazuki spoke from near the door. My eyes widened when I heard her voice - I totally forgot she was there for a moment. _She must be a great assassin._

"We can't, it was more like a figure of speech," Maou casually said as he placed the painting leaning against a wall. "She sort of looks like Chiho, doesn't she?" he pointed out. I nodded in agreement.

"She does share some similarities, like the orange hair and..." Kamazuki's eyes trailed down on the painting, to the girl's chest area, I guessed. She stopped speaking then and I think I detected a faint blush on her cheeks. "A-anyway, why has it been so quiet here?" she changed the subject. "It's unusual and suspicious."

"Hmm? I guess we have been pretty quiet today..." Maou realized and placed a hand against his chin. "I mean you can't expect us to be _that_ social all the time."

"I guess not," Kamazuki simply answered, narrowing her eyes, and sat down at the table. She gestured me to do the same, so I did. I chose a place next to her. "So, Wakahisa-dono... What do you think about this world?" she asked.

"I've grown to like it pretty much," I replied, trying to keep my answer short and simple. "What about you?"

"Well, this world certainly offers some strange things to discover... strange and wonderful," Kamazuki answered thoughtfully. I giggled at her words.

"It sure does," I agreed.

"This place is pretty cool," Maou added, taking his manga and opening it up again.

"Maou-sama, please be polite and pay attention to our guests," Ashiya scolded, placing the last few dishes into the cabinet and closing it. He rinsed his hands from soap and dried them on a small towel hanging from the lower cabinet doors. "Your manga can wait."

"Ah, sorry... It's just that a huge plot twist just happened and I really want to know what comes next," Maou explained, clearly arguing with himself about if he should put down the manga.

"Maou-sama..." Ashiya began with a judging tone.

"No, it's fine. You can read if you want to," I said, giving them a reassuring smile. I didn't want an awkward fight to begin while I was here.

"Are you sure?" Maou asked and I nodded as a response. A wide smile formed on his lips. "Thanks!" he said and sat down on the spot he had conquered for himself earlier. Ashiya sighed in disappointment.

"I'm sorry about that," Ashiya bowed to me and Kamazuki. "Would you like to have some tea?" he asked from the both of us.

"Tea would be nice," Kamazuki said. I wasn't much of a tea-person, but I usually took it when offered directly. I smiled and nodded at the tall male.

"Sure, why not," I said. Ashiya walked over to the kitchen counters and began boiling the tea water for us.

"Do you want tea, Maou-sama, Urushihara?" Ashiya turned to look at the other two demons one by one. Maou was the first to react, moving his gaze from the manga's pages and nodding.

"Yeah, thanks," he said and returned to his book.

"What about you, Urushihara?" Ashiya asked the purple-haired demon again. No response. "Urushihara?" he said a with a little more volume.

"Oy, he's speaking to you," I said a little shyly as I poked the demon on the back. He flinched at my touch, immediately turning to look at the one harrasing him.

"Huh? What?" he asked in confusion. "What is it?" He looked over to Ashiya. The blond man's brow twitched in annoyment.

"I was asking if you wanted tea or not," Ashiya said.

"No," Urushihara said before turning back to his computer screen. The tall house-husband muttered some indefinable words before turning back to the counters.

I took a look at what Urushihara was playing – it was Realm of Warship. It felt like a good moment, so I decided to speak up.

"Uh, hey... Urushihara-kun," I called his name. He was still alert for noises so he noticed me in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah?" he asked, his focus still on the screen.

"That game you're playing... I play it too," I casually began.

"I figured you do, since you were buying the same extension pack..." Urushihara spoke a little absently.

"What are you talking about?" Kamazuki asked with sudden curiosity. "You know each other?"

"Not really..."

"Nope."

Neither of us really didn't seem to be in the mood to explain things, and it wasn't that important anyway. I turned my eyes from Kamazuki to the purple-haired boy.

"So... Did you get the pack in the end?" I asked, raising a brow. _I know I sure didn't. I should probably go look if the store still has it._

"Nope. I couldn't go back for obvious reasons and Maou wouldn't go buy it for me..." he still spoke like he was completely swallowed by the game.

"Well, you did take my credit card without my permission," Maou bluntly stated and then went back to his manga.

"It was stupid of you to go out in the first place," Ashiya added with a displeased tone. "You know you're kept in here for a reason."

"And still you call me a NEET," Urushihara replied, now turning away from the screen. There was an annoyed expression painted on his features.

"Anyways," I said, returning his attention to me. "Um..." Meeting his purple eyes made me a little unsure to continue. "One of my friends... Um, I ended up in a funny situation," I tried to form my answer. The fallen angel raised an eyebrow at me. "Short explanation: she wants to play RoW with us," I blurted out quickly. Urushihara stared at me for a couple of seconds, eyes full of disbelief.

"With _us_...?" he asked, trying to comprehend what I just said. "Why? And who is she, anyway?" I noticed from the corner of my eye that everyone was staring at us again. I tried to hold back my blushing. How did I end up in this situation again?

"S-she's a close friend of mine. I met her at Sasahata North... Umm..." I stuttered, rubbing the back of my head with one hand. "I told her that you're a friend I met online and she insisted that we form a party." Urushihara still just stared at me, like everyone else there. No, wait, not everyone – I think Ashiya turned to look at the tea water.

"Why the hell did you tell her that?" he asked a little hostile. I backed away. It was so embarrasing.

"I don't know, I needed an explanation for certain things and I just quickly made something up! Don't blame me for covering our true identities," I demanded, acting a little bit like a cornered animal. Urushihara sighed deeply and bowed his head forward, placing a hand against his forehead.

"I'm not gonna do it," he said after removing the hand from his face. Then he turned back to his computer.

"That would be fine with me if it wasn't Gina-chan who's asking... she will most likely hunt you down if you don't play with her," I said with a sly tone. "You don't want a passionate stalker, do you?"

"It's not like we couldn't handle one more..." Maou casually said and finally stopped staring at me, going back to his manga once more.

"Don't talk about the Hero like she was a mere stalker, demon lord," Kamazuki shot at the raven-haired man.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't," Maou said, clearly not caring about Kamazuki's words. I turned to look at Ashiya, who handed over teacups, first to Kamazuki and then Maou. The third one he placed in front of me on the table, a little white tea plate under it.

"Please, Urushihara-kun... play with us just this once?" I asked with the most innocent tone I could come up with and crawled a little closer to him. I wouldn't have done it for anyone else but Gina. She'd always been there for me, no matter how little time we'd known each other, and I would've felt guilty beyond comparison if I didn't at least try for her. Even though she often annoyed me, I still cared for her.

"Fine! Geez, just stop bothering me already!" he growled and pushed me back with one hand. I budged immediately when he touched me and a partially fake smile spread on my face.

"Ohh, thank you so much! I'll call you later tonight," I giggled a little awkwardly. I didn't like it when I managed to make people do something they didn't want to do. It made me feel guilty afterwards – no, more like it made me afraid of their anger.

I backed away from the NEET who was now muttering in the same manner Ashiya was earlier, and sat at the table again. I took the hot tea cup carefully in my hands and took a sip of the tea. _Mint... mm, I love mint!_ I sipped it again. Maybe tea wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

I returned to the dormitory about an hour later and found Ayame on the computer. She was streaming an unfamiliar anime about ninjas or something and I let her watch the episode through before bothering her. I lied down on my bed, took out my phone and texted Gina.

I told Gina that we could play after I got my computer back from Ayame and she of course was more than happy to hear it. She would be meeting my mysterious friend, after all. I wasn't so happy about all the hassle, but did it mostly for her enjoyment.

"I'm done with my anime," Ayame yawned and walked over to my bed, handing over the laptop. I put away my phone before taking the device from her.

"Great," I said with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. Ayame rolled her eyes and went back to her side of the room, taking out her school books. I changed my position to lay on my stomach and grabbed my headphones, plugging them in and placing them on my ears. I sighed deeply before alerting Gina that I was ready and digging out my phone to call Urushihara. It took a while before he answered.

"Hey. Do you have Skyphone?" I said, getting straight to the point.

"_Uh, yeah,_" came the somewhat annoyed reply.

"Well could you add me? Now?" I asked.

"_Guess I have to,_" he said.

"My username's Hanahisa, you can find me with that," I informed.

"_Uh-huh_."

"Talk to ya online," I said and finished the phone call. I slipped the phone somewhere on my bed and stood up, moving myself and the computer to the studying desk. I placed down the laptop and found my mouse from the second drawer of the table, attaching it to the computer.

It took about five minutes before I saw a contact request coming from "AngelGuy." I just knew that he'd picked out the name to annoy me. Well, maybe not, but it sure was aggravating as shit. I said my hi's to him and added him into a conversation with me and Gina. Then I made a group call to them.

There was a short silence before anyone dared to speak.

"_I don't have headphones at the moment, so you're gonna have to listen to the echo of your own voices,_" Urushihara spoke with his usual bored tone.

"Maou-san and Ashiya-san are listening?" I asked.

"_Probably... I'm in the closet though, so it muffles up the sound quite a bit,_" he replied.

"_Soo... you're Urushihara-kun, right?_" Gina cheerily asked.

"_Yeah... hi,_" Urushihara said.

"_It's so cool to meet you! I'm Gina Matsuoka!_" Gina introdused herself.

"_Matsuoka-san, then?_" he seemed to be making a note to himself.

"Shall we play?" I suggested as I double-clicked on the RoW shortcut.

"_Guess so,_" Urushihara replied.

The playing went by surprisingly well even though there was some awkwardness in the beginning. Gina was continuosly asking personal guestions about Urushihara and our relationship and I was afraid Urushihara would click himself off the call any minute. Well, it would've been a good escape from the situation... We actually made a pretty good party in the game, though, and managed to achieve a lot together. Once it all ended, Gina even made us promise to play together again. After our call ended around eleven I went straight to bed without thinking about anything that had happened that day. It felt less painful that way...

* * *

**[A/N]**

**It's shorter than usual... I know. xD I'm sorry, I was just soooo tired while writing this. Like, I walked 20km today... I felt like dying when I got back and almost moved my writing session to another day. So... any weirdness in there is because I can barely see straight right now. Hope you liked it and reviews would be as awesome as ever!**


	9. Chapter 8 - Girls' day out

**[A/N]**

**Here is your new CHAPTEEEEERRRR! I dunno. :'D Hope you enjoy!**

**EDIT:**

**I am so, so sorry! I totally forgot to add two minor details I had planned to put into the chapter... x_x' I added them now, but like I said, they're minor, so they don't really affect the story. It's just something I wanted to add but forgot. Sorry~!**

* * *

Chapter 8 – Girls' day out

I woke up around ten in the morning and Ayame was pleasently surprised. I usually woke up late in the afternoon when it was the weekend. She probably would've ripped me out of bed if I hadn't woken up on my own, though, because she'd told me last weekend that she _needed_ to go shopping.

I rubbed my eyes and looked through my half of the closet for a proper outfit. Ayame's clothes were starting to take up my space, too... _How come she says she never has nothing to wear? Look at these jeans - she has eight pairs. EIGHT PAIRS. That's just ridiculous to me. I can do fine with three._

"Are you sure we need to go...?" I asked while pushing some of her stuff back on her side.

"Yes, I'm sure. I really need some new shirts... Do you think wine red would look good on me?" she asked while looking at herself through her phone's front camera. She was holding a red sock next to her face to compare colours. I rolled my eyes and took a cute blouse from one of my shelves. It was black and had ruffles on the neckline and sleeves.

"Should we call Gina-chan? You know I don't really care for being an arbiter of taste," I said and searched for the denim skirt I wore the other day. _I wonder if it's somewhere on the floor..._ I closed the closet doors and searched through the trash.

"Yeah, sure. She's too nice about it, though... She doesn't say when something looks terrible," Ayame muttered and corrected her outfit. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a turquoise, loose shirt.

"Neither do I," I giggled. "You'd probably smack me if I did." I found the skirt and put it on. Then I slipped into the black shirt.

"Hah, you don't say it because you know you wear some weird-ass stuff," Ayame shot with a playful glare. "You should tie your hair, it's gonna get messy," she pointed out while brushing through her own blonde and red tresses.

"I know that... but thanks, _mom_," I teased and noticed my black ribbon on my studying table. I took it and tied my hair on a low ponytail. _I really should buy some new pompoms while we're out._

"Tssk," Ayame chuckled and walked over to the door. She grabbed her dark brown bag from my chair and I found my black one from the floor. Luckily it was in a place I could easily see it. If it was near my bed I would probably never find it through the mess.

"We should clean up when we get back..." I noted and Ayame frowned.

"Do we have to~?" she asked pleadingly, holding onto the door handle.

"If I have to go shopping, you have to clean," I demanded.

"Ugh... _fine_!" she said as we left the room.

* * *

We went to the nearby mall and searched through some of the clothing stores. The place was packed with people, since it was Saturday and all, but I managed. I looked through the stuff I liked the most and Ayame gave me weirded out looks. I huffed at her whenever she looked at me funny.

"Wanna take a break?" Ayame suggested after about and hour of going through different varieties of clothes.

"A break sounds great," I replied and we walked out of the store we were currently in and sat down on a bench in the middle of one of the main hallways. There were lots of different people passing by and I thought I even saw some cosplayers. I leaned against Ayame and put down a small bag of nail polish and other accessories I'd found. She leaned her back against me and searched through her own purchases. "What'd ya get?" I asked and looked at her from the corner of my eye.

"Uh, I bought a couple of tops... I showed you the grey shirt already," Ayame replied and yawned. "I also saw these great jeans-"

"_No more jeans_," I demanded and she looked at me with wide eyes. My glare was deadly.

"Uh, alright then..." she said and turned her head away from me. She dug out her phone and began texting. I wondered if it was to Nobuko – no, probably Etsuko... Could've been Gina, too, but I was usually the one who contacted her. _Anyways, why am I thinking this?_ I shook my head lightly and took out my own phone. I could play Jungle Rush a couple more levels.

Five to ten minutes passed before Ayame spoke again.

"She agrees with me," she said plainly. I stopped playing and turned to look at her.

"What? Who?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Gina-chan. She agrees that I should buy the jeans~" Ayame sang and showed me her text messages. I sighed.

"You have enough jeans already! It doesn't matter if Gina-chan agrees, you're not taking anymore of my closet space!" I hissed and stopped leaning on her.

"Well, you can tell that to her – she's on her way here," Ayame chuckled and put away her phone with an unexpected grace. I saw red, but swallowed my emotions.

"You're and asshole," I calmly said.

"Mm, yeah, likely," Ayame spoke as if she was pondering my statement in depth. I sighed and crossed my arms, pouting. She giggled at my actions.

"I'm gonna go and buy the jeans. Wait here for me, okay~?" she asked and I reluctantly nodded. Gina was always so forceful with her will, I knew I had no chance against her. I might've as well let Ayame do as she pleased.

I leaned back in my seat and looked around the hallway. So many people around me... I didn't think I'd feel so beleagured without Ayame there. I shifted uncomfortably and zoned myself out, playing with my phone.

* * *

I woke up from my trance when I felt a bump on my back. My phone slipped from my hands to the floor and I almost punched the person behind me.

"How's it going, Hana-chan~?" Gina asked cheerily. "Sorry about that..." she chuckled as she let go of me, walking from behind my back to pick up my phone. She handed it to me as soon as she got it.

"You scared me half to death..." I sighed and took the phone, slipping it into my bag. "You're here already?"

"Well, my home is only a short walk from here," she replied and looked around, most likely searching for Ayame.

"Ayame's still in the store... The line must be long," I said and stood up, throwing my bag on my shoulder. I looked around the hallway and picked up Ayame's shopping bags. "She collected all this stuff... wanna carry it?" I shoved the bags to Gina. "Thanks~!" Gina gave me a bored smile.

"Don't be lazy, Hana-chan," she giggled and gave me half of the bags. "You know I'm not gonna carry all of it."

"Fine, fine..." I took the bags and headed for the store I guessed Ayame had gone in. "This way."

* * *

We walked over to the store and searched through it. We even checked the dressing booths for feet, but couldn't find Ayame. Maybe she already checked out? We checked the counters and outside the door. Could we have intersected? We checked the benches, too, but there was no Ayame.

"I wonder where she went," I said and placed a hand on my hip.

"You probably got the store wrong," Gina sighed and took out her phone.

"Could be... Are you calling her?" I asked.

"Yeah..." Gina said and lifted the phone to her ear. It took a while before she spoke again. "Hey, Ayame-chan~! Where the heck are you? We looked for you, but- … Oh, alright, we'll come over to... umm, which café? … Right, we'll be there soon. Bye." She slid her phone in the pocket of her dark green jeans. They made an interesting contrast against her electric blue shirt and hair.

"Well, where is she?" I asked a little irritated.

"Juuust follow me," Gina chuckled and pulled me with her through the hallway.

"Hey! Stop dragging me around!" I pulled myself from her grasp and she smirked at me.

* * *

Gina and I made it through all the people, heading farther and farther into the mall. This was the part with all the cafeterias, restaurants and stuff. I rarely went there, since we usually only bought snacks on our way home. I looked around and through all the delicious-smelling places.

"Where are we going?" I asked Gina, distracting myself from the sightseeing.

"Ayame-chan told she met someone and ended up having coffee with them..." Gina chuckled. "Just follow me, the café is somewhere around... there!" She pointed to a dimly lit, closed off space at the end of a short hallway._ Looks interesting._ She walked over to the café and I followed her.

The place was very neat, decorated in shiny wood colours and candle light. The songs playing in the backround were a little slower than your usual pop song. The tables looked all somehow very secretive – probably because they were surrounded by high sofas with lime green seats. Besides the candles there were lime green paper lamps hanging from the roof. The place was very atmospheric, and I happened to be a sucker for atmosphere. There I'd definitely visit again.

I looked through the tables and saw quite a few couples enjoying the café. _Figures, since this seems like a very date-like place to me._

"Oyy! Here!" Ayame called to us from a corner table. We headed over to her and immeadiately turned to look at the one sitting across from her.

"Sasaki-san," I said, a surprised expression accesorising my face.

"Nice to see you, Wakahisa-senpai," the redhead greeted with a wide smile.

"You too," I replied. She made room for me on the sofa and I sat next to her with a smile. Gina sat next to Ayame on the other side of the table. "Hope you don't feel too cornered..." I chuckled awkwardly. She shook her head.

"Chiho Sasaki, right? I'm Gina Matsuoka, a third-year," Gina introduced herself with a wide smile.

"Yeah, I know – it would be weird to be from Sasahata North and not know Matsuoka-senpai," Sasaki replied and placed both of her hands on the table. Gina seemed to be blushing.

"Oh, don't be like that... I'm not that special, to be honest," Gina stumbled and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. She'd always been a popular student and a part of the student council, but that wasn't what she was most known for. She was known for gathering lots of guys around her with her cheery attitude wherever she went and that often stuck to other students' minds. You could say she was somewhat infamous amongst some of the female students. Many were jealous of her so called talent. I myself didn't care that much, even though the attention wouldn't have been _that _terrible to bear...

"So you ran into each other in the store?" I asked both Sasaki and Ayame, leaning my chin against my left hand.

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't inform you right away... I was just surprised and it sort of slipped my mind," Ayame said. _But I came here with you..._

"I thought Ayame-chan was done with shopping forever~," Gina teased.

"I think I even heard something like that from you..." I added.

"Pfft... well... new day, new thoughts," Ayame replied.

"I'm here waiting for Yusa-san and Kamazuki-san. I promised to go shopping with them last week, so... here I am," Sasaki spoke.

"Oh? You think they'll mind if we join you?" Ayame asked cheerily and I felt like glaring at her. I didn't feel like hanging around other three girls and going through the same shops again. It was so hot in that place, too... And we could barely afford anything anymore. It was going to be just circling around in an oven to no end.

"Huh? Who are these people you're talking about?" Gina raised a brow at us. Oh, right, she wasn't there when we met them.

"They're Urushihara-kun's friends," I said.

"Wait... You know Urushihara-san but not the others?" Sasaki seemed incredulous.

"Umm..." Gina scratched her head in confusion.

"Maybe I should explain things for the both of you..." Ayame began with a sigh. "See, Hana-chan knows Urushihara-kun from an online game... Through him we got to know about Maou-san. Umm. We sold a painting to Maou-san... No, wait, we sold it to Urushihara-kun but Maou-san paid it. And then, umm, we had dinner at their place and met some nice people," she stumbled to the end, making representational hand motions while she did.

"And I met Kamazuki-san when I went to deliver the painting yesterday," I added. Sasaki blinked in confusion.

"Oh... So that's how it happened," Gina raised a brow. Was she catching on to our lie? No, that couldn't be it.

"Uh, by the way... Why did Urushihara-san buy a painting from you?" Sasaki asked.

"Well, uh..." I pondered. We hadn't thought it through, it appeared.

"Obviously because he has a crush on Hana-chan," Ayame purred. I just sat there completely frozen from shock. Ayame, _my_ Ayame had betrayed my trust and made me a target. How dared she?!

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Sasaki leaned in closer to me and I flinched back, waking up from my trance.

"I knew it~! It makes so much sense..." Gina chuckled like a movie villain. Cold shivers ran up my spine. _This is getting annoying way too fast... And it's making me blush, too! Goddamnit!_

"Well, I guess a guy like him would find a girl like Wakahisa-senpai appealing..." Sasaki seemed to be muttering to herself. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Yeah... Let's drop it for now, girls," Ayame suggested and gestured towards me. I was still blushing, wasn't I? _Fuck._ I placed a hand on my forehead and sighed.

* * *

The next moments were pretty much filled with giggles and gossip. I couldn't really keep up with all the chit-chat, but I think it was mostly about boys and what was coming in on that spring's fashion. The conversation barely came relevant to me when they started talking about school, so I decided to pay attention for once.

"So have you guys been studying hard?" Sasaki asked with a slightly more serious tone. She actually seemed pretty curious for a reason unknown to me.

"Yeah, I at least have been. History and arts are going well for me!" Ayame gave the redhead a double thumbs up.

"Me too, but not that much to be honest. There's still a month before the exams," Gina said and fluffed her hair. I blinked. _Wait... they're not talking about our finals, are they? They're next month already?_

"Well, it's not that bad... Hana-chan probably hasn't even opened her books yet," Ayame joked and looked at me. I blinked again.

"No... I guess I haven't," I simply said and she raised a brow at that. Gina seemed to be a little surprised at my reaction, too. Usually I reacted with cold stares when school came up. I guess it was all just so sudden... We were third years after all. We'd be leaving Sasahata North soon.

The conversation slowed down, but didn't completely die. The words went past my ears like they normally did and I just kept staring at the table top._ It's so weird... nothing's really changed like that since we came to this world with Ayame. Well, if I don't include meeting Satan and his gang, of course._ I chuckled at my thoughts. "Satan and his gang." I couldn't help but imagine loose gangsta hoodies and caps on all three demons, going around spray painting walls and saying "yo" a couple of times in every sentence. I chuckled again, this time a little louder. The other girls gave me weird looks.

"She's so high," Gina sighed.

"Who's high?" came a familiar voice from my left. I turned to look at the rose-haired, emerald-eyed woman standing next to our table. Hero Emilia was standing there, wearing a yellow tunic and a brown pencil skirt.

"Sasaki-dono, I'm glad to see you again," a young girl wearing a dark yukata spoke. Kamazuki was standing next to the Hero – eh, Emi Yusa. "You too, Wakahisa-dono."

"Me too," Sasaki replied to the girl.

"I'm Ayame Honda," Ayame smiled at the girl. "The one next to me is Gina Matsuoka. Nice to meet you, Kamazuki-san."

"Yeah, nice to meet you!" Gina said and waved at the two.

"I'm Emi Yusa," Yusa introdused herself to Gina with a smile. Then she turned to look at Sasaki again. "Are we going?"

"Yeah... You don't mind if they tag along, do you?" Chiho asked, referring to me and my friends.

"I don't, at least. It's always nice to meet new, interesting people," Kamazuki spoke with an adorable smile. She reminded me of a kitten of some sort. I constantly had to remind myself she was an assassin or I'd forget it.

"I don't mind, either," Yusa said and gestured for us to leave. "C'mon, I don't think this cafe's staff is too happy you're not buying anything." We chuckled a bit before leaving our table and heading for the stores again. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

We went through the stores – some of them we'd already been to, like I guessed – in a huge group, looking at different kinds of clothes and laughing at stupid jokes. It was surprisingly fun hanging around in such a big group. Everyone seemed to be in weird harmony even concidering our differing personalities. I think it was an hour or two before I finally broke out of my bubble of happy thoughts.

"What do you think of this one?" Kamazuki asked for probably the millionth time. She was holding a green yukata with pink flower patterns on it. _Where does she even find so many of them?_

"Well... I don't know about the green on you," Yusa pondered. "What do you think, Wakahisa-san?" I flinched at my name being called.

"Uh, I don't know too much about clothes... I think it's a pretty one," I said and went through some shirts. Why'd I have to be the one closest to them?

"You might be right about the green, Yusa-dono. It's the wrong choice for me," Kamazuki said, facing a large store mirror. I followed the conversation from where I was incase I was spoken to again.

"You should try this cute dress, you know – it matches with your hair and all," Yusa said, offering Kamazuki a dark grey pin-up dress. "Look, isn't it cute?"

"Well... I don't know if it's really... I mean..." Kamazuki spoke. Yusa shoved her the dress and smiled. Kamazuki sighed and looked at it again.

Suddenly Yusa's gaze turned to me and I flinched back. She gave me an assuring smile before walking over to me and leaning on the clothes rack I was looking through.

"So... About Matsuoka-san. Does she know about us?" Yusa looked at me with serious eyes as she presented the question. I shook my head.

"No, she doesn't," I said. I probably should've asked about Sasaki as well, but it sort of slipped my mind.

"Alright. It didn't seem like it, but I wanted to make sure..." the rose-head spoke and leaned back from the rack.

"Don't worry, our secret's safe," I assured. I hoped it was enough to convince her. She simply nodded and backed away from me, turning to speak with Kamazuki again.

I stopped watching them when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to face the one behind me. Sasaki was standing there, showing me a blue top.

"Do you think this is a little too revealing?" she asked and studied the cloth in her hands. Indeed, it seemed to be a little brave – but she could've pulled it off, no doubt.

"I... If you like it, you should buy it..." I simply said, offering her a smile. She smiled back with a faint blush.

"Do you think... Do you think Maou-san would like it?" she asked, fiddling with her skirt's hem. She seemed to be pretty honest about her crush to me... It made me feel so uncomfortable. I didn't like openly expressed feelings.

"Well, maybe," I said, still smiling. It was mostly a fake smile by that point. Sasaki gave me a nod, beginning to go through some other clothes.

"Maybe I should pick something a bit more casual," she said to herself. She obviously knew more about these things than I did. I sighed, a little embarrased of my ignorance of fashion._ I'm a girl, I should think about these things more. Gah!_

"Umm, have you seen Ayame-chan or Gina-chan around?" I asked Sasaki. Maybe I could've found a safe place with my closest friends. I felt somewhat exposed among these half familiar people.

"I think I saw them at the dressing booths," Sasaki said and I nodded, heading for the given direction.

* * *

I found my way between shelves and people, pushing through all the way to the dressing booths. I stopped to them and sighed in relief after getting through all the chaos. The mall was still so friggin' packed with people. Where'd they keep coming from?

I was just about to walk into the waiting area of the booths when I heard two voices discussing.

"...so, yeah, that's why I... kinda fear the dark," Gina said somewhat embarrased. I raised a brow.

"Oh... that's kinda sad. I'm sorry," Ayame replied. "To be completely honest... I've never liked the dark, either."

"You haven't?" Gina asked, surprise in her voice.

"No... Not after..." Ayame trailed off. "Well, uh, some stuff happened with my sister and... I haven't been in good terms with her after that." _Sister...? What sister? When'd she get one of those?_

"You have a sister?" Gina paused for a second. "I didn't know... You wanna tell me?"

"I'm sorry, I'd rather not go into detail," Ayame chuckled a little absently. That's when I backed away from the booths. I turned my back to them, walking a little farther away.

_Ayame has a sister? Why hasn't she ever said anything to me? I've known her far longer than Gina. And besides, when did they get so close? I've always been the link between them. Now they're sharing sappy stories in a clothing store? What the heck?_

I took a deep breath. Clearly I was overreacting. It was only natural for them to get close after all this time and it was also natural for me to feel jealous._ I should calm down._ _Maybe there's a reason Ayame hasn't mentioned her sister to me. But still..._ I looked back over to the booths. I shook the doubt out of my head and turned to look at the three other women still going through clothes. _I should give Gina and Ayame some time... They seemed to be bonding and stuff._ I walked over to the other three with a languorous feeling nibbling at my chest.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Dialogue is so hard to write! Aaagh! My anti-sociality really isn't helping with it, either! WHAT THE HECK DO PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WHEN THEY CHAT?! XD I feel a little hyper... maybe it's because it's 2:28 in the morning for me. There's school tomorrow. Heh. Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll see you again this weekend! Reviews would be awesome!**

**EDIT:**

**I've gotten better with dialogue now. XD**


	10. Chapter 9 - Not for your entertainment

**[A/N]**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**There are some things I'd like to mention. I did edits in chapters 1 and 7, I added the conversations where Ayame calls Gina and then later Urushihara. I think it makes more sense that we hear what she's hearing, since this is from her perspective. I also wanted to gain a new feature of story telling. x3 I'm using it on this chapter, too.**

**Another thing I edited about all the chapters it's mentioned in, is the "McRonald's"-name. I switched it to MgRonald's, like it's supposed to be. That's all, you can keep on reading now! :)**

* * *

Chapter 9 – Not for your entertainment

The days flew by quickly. Before I even knew it the day I spent out shopping belonged to last week and I was back in school again. Sadly, unlike the days, the classes didn't go by as fast. I mostly just scribbled into my notebooks every class, trying to look busy. Ayame would occasionally join me, but she actually mostly paid attention and... you know, learned stuff. That's not all – she was keeping herself busy with school work outside of school, too. More than usual in my opinion. She seemed to be very set up on getting through the finals with high scores.

It was math class and the teacher was babbling about some simple formulas we'd gone over a couple of times already. I was once again scribbling into my notebook, making a pretty nice-looking chibi of a zombie. The combination of it's rottened look, bloody teeth and cute, huge eyes made me giggle against my hand. I collected a couple of annoyed stares and shut up immediately, blushing. I drew a couple more lines and looked at my finished drawing. It was surprisingly good for my work and I felt an urge to present it to someone. Luckily my blonde friend was sitting right next to me.

"Oy, Ayame," I whispered and tugged the sleeve of her shirt. She looked at me from the corner of her eye. "Wanna see what I drew?" I asked with a smile.

"Wanna shut up?" she coldly replied and shook my hand off. I blinked. _That was... I don't know if rude is the right word, since I was actually bothering her, but... I don't know, I feel this weird twist inside my stomach._

I backed away from Ayame and leaned against my desk. I stared at the drawing for a moment before turning the page in my notebook and starting to scribble something else. _Tsk, I didn't know she was _that _interested in math..._

* * *

After some more hours the school day was over on my part and I returned to the dormitories. I walked into our dormitory and up the stairs, all the way to our room. I entered and threw my bag on my bed. The room was clear of the mess that had been consuming it before last weekend. I'd indeed gotten Ayame to clean up with me, as odd as it sounded. I sighed when I noticed a paper wrapper of a chocolate bar on the floor near Ayame's bed. I walked over to it and threw it in the trash can at the end of the bookshelf.

"Honey, I'm home," I joked, still annoyed about Ayame in math class. I felt stupid about it, and I had to let out the anger in some form. For me it was this one, simple sentence. It actually really helped.

I sighed in relief and walked over to the closet, picking up my outfit for the day. I didn't feel like dressing up today. _How come such a small act from the stupid blonde affected my mood so much? Wait, did I just call Ayame stupid in my thoughts? I don't remember ever doing that before. I feel like a teenager rebelling against her parents._

I picked out my black skirt and green and white striped shirt again. It was one of my favourite outfits even though Ayame bashed it from time to time. The skirt was tight and the shir was pretty loose with puffy sleeves and it revealed a little bit of stomach. Sometimes I wore a black see-through top under the shirt and that's when she mostly commented on my stylistic choices._ I should do that today._ I picked up the see-through top with a smirk.

* * *

A door opened and closed as Ayame entered our dorm room. She walked over to her bed and collapsed on it. I followed her movements from my bed, Hearthrock opened up on the computer in front of me.

"Hard day?" I asked and turned to my game, setting the volume low. Getting up and walking over to my headphones felt like too much effort.

"Yeah..." she replied and yawned. Silence fell for a moment, only the quiet sounds of my game echoing in the room. Ayame got up from her bed and walked over to the closet. She changed into her new, dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt. Then she turned to look at me for a second.

"I see you're wearing your typical man-hunting outfit," she chuckled with obvious sarcasm.

"What's wrong with my man-hunting outfit?" I asked with a practised cool.

"Oh, nothing..." Ayame chuckled again. "It's just, you know, it's supposed to _attract_ the opposite sex – not make them run away in disgust." I gave her an annoyed sigh.

"Well I guess I'll just have to chase women then," I argued.

"I fear it's gonna have worse effect on them," she replied with a sly smile, sitting on her bed and digging out books from her school bag. "They'll scream and jump of a high building. I mean I would, at least."

"I hope you realize you don't have access to your wings. You're gonna miss out on all of this..." I gestured my body with playful exaggeration, "...if you die." Ayame burst into chuckles and after a short while I joined her. Why was I mad at her again...?

"I guess so," she said, piling up the books on her studying table and sitting in front of it, turning her back to me. I smiled by myself and turned back to my game. "I'm sorry about the class, by the way," she said, turning her head slightly towards me. "I just... really wanted to pay attention. I wanna pass the finals, you know."

"Nah, it's nothing," I lazily replied. "Why are you so keen on passing, though?" I asked in a way like the whole consept of school was foreign to me.

"I just do," Ayame firmly replied. It made me raise a brow. "I kind of wonder why you don't," she said, turning to look at me on her chair. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I dunno, it just doesn't feel that important to me..." I replied as truthfully as I could. I'd never really wondered why exactly I wasn't that interested in it, I was more interested in why others were. I could see now that it went pretty much the same way on both sides.

"Huh," Ayame simply replied and turned back to her homework. _Why do I get this feeling there's something she isn't telling me? Wouldn't be the first time, after all._ I brushed off the feeling and returned my attention to the game.

* * *

About an hour of Ayame studying and me playing passed. I groaned in defeat as my opponent crushed my hero.

"You really suck at that game, don't you?" Ayame commented from her homework.

"Well, on my defense, that guy was really, _really_ good! I don't know how or where he got all those spell cards, but I wanna get my hands on them!" I ranted. "I mean, seriously, how can you do that much damage with only three manas?!"

"Good guestion..." Ayame sighed.

"Of course you wouldn't understand," I sighed in return. I looked around in the room, a little tired of losing every other match. Maybe there was something else to do besides being on the computer. "Hey, wanna go to MgRonald's for a burger?" I suggested.

"No, I really don't. I need to study, Hana-chan," Ayame said. I heard the sound of a page turning. I frowned, thinking of something else to rip her away from her books.

"Well... maybe we could paint something together," I said almost innocently. This time she gave me a look, but it didn't seem to work either. She went back to her work as soon as she realized she had stopped. "You're so boring now," I complained. She just chuckled and continued her studying. I changed my position on the bed a couple of times before finally sitting up. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk."

"Great. More peace and quiet for me!" Ayame celebrated, raising both of her arms towards the roof. I gritted my teeth.

"Fuck you too," I chuckled and made my way to my bag, checking everything I needed was there. "Bye," I said as I grabbed the door handle. Ayame waved at me from her table before I left the room.

* * *

I checked my phone and the time seemed to be at five twelve - dinner time. I walked through the streets with an absent look on my face as I looked at my phone. Most of the outside world went right past me when I walked. It usually did. I saw tall buildings and some people walking past me from the corners of my eyes, but otherwise my focus was on the screen. I wasn't playing a game, no, I was looking through my contacts. I was bored out of my mind and some company was definitely needed. I could already imagine Ayame's words in my mind: "You? Being both healthy with your walking _and_ being social?"

I looked at the possible people I could be spending time with. _The first and obvious solution would be Gina, I guess._ I selected her phone number - since it was right there I didn't feel the need to type it, like I usually did – and called it. She picked up pretty quickly.

"Hi, Gina-chan! What's up?" I asked, trying to sound cheery.

"_Don't talk like that, it's creepy_..." she replied. I rolled my eyes.

"But _you're_ the one who always wants me to act happy," I said with an agitated tone.

"_Yeah, yeah, I know... but now I'm not sure if I should've,_" Gina replied. I gritted my teeth in annoyment. "_Anyways, is there something you wanted to talk about? I'm a little busy right now, so if it isn't importan_t..." she trailed off.

"Oh, you're busy? What're you doing?" I asked, raising a brow.

"_It's, um, it's Nobuko-san..._" Gina seemed to be lowering her voice. It sounded like she was walking over to somewhere and closing a door. _What the hell's going on?_ "_She... she's having trouble with her new boyfriend. Usually it's Etsuko-san or Ayame-chan who takes care of her like this, but Ayame's occupied with studying and Etsuko's at work._"

"So Etsuko-san got the job at the library?" I asked. "No, wait, that's beside the point... what happened between Nobuko-san and the guy?" Gina paused for a second before replying.

"_Wow, I can't believe you've actually been listening to what I say, Hana-chan. Usually you just space out when I start talking,_" Gina said. _What?! She new about that? Well... oops._ I rubbed my temple in embarrasment, even if she couldn't see it. "_Anyway, Nobuko-san thinks the guy might be with her because of a bet of some sort... It's pretty bad. I'm sorry, I really have to go back to her now..._"

"Oh," I said. Nobuko's situation sounded pretty interesting to me. I kind of understood why Ayame and Gina liked gossiping about her now. "Well, bye then, I guess."

"_I'll talk to you later. Bye,_" Gina said and a loud beep ended the phone call. I lowered the phone from my ear and looked at the screen again. _Well, now it's four people I can't hang out with: Ayame's studying, Etsuko's at work, Nobuko's crying about her problems and Gina's comforting her. Great._ I looked through the rest of the names on my phone. Some service numbers, Maou, Yusa, Urushihara...

I paused at Urushihara's name and stared at it for a little while, stopping completely. My thumb moved on the "call"-button, but I pulled it back right away and flipped the lilac phone closed, shaking my head. _No, I don't have the courage to do that._ I looked up from my closed phone, slipping it into my bag. I chuckled when I realized I'd walked over to MgRonald's and looked at the flickering sign on top of the place.

_Should I go in? I mean, I'm not that hungry, but I could buy a soda or something. I'm a little thirsty, after all. No, buying one from a store would be cheaper._ I turned around to head for our regular store, but stopped on my tracks when I saw a redheaded girl in a pink shirt and a denim skirt. She walked from MgRonald's' side door (I guessed) to the street. She was looking through the contents of her bag with a focused expression.

"Oh, hey, Sasaki-san!" I waved. _What a coincidence – just as I was in need of company. Not my first choice, but will do._ The redhead looked up from her bag to me and smiled.

"Hello, Wakahisa-senpai," she greeted and took out her phone from the bag. I walked over to the other girl.

"Pfft, just call me Hana-san. I'm hardly worth the title of senpai," I chuckled.

"Oh, are you sure?" she asked and I nodded as a response. "Well then, Hana-san, how are you?" she asked with that adorable smile of hers. _Gosh, I could just eat her up like a cupcake._ "Oh, and you can call me Chiho-chan, if you want to."

"Uh, a little bored," I admitted. "I needed to get away from Ayame-chan. She's going crazy with her studying and it's kind of annoying."

"I think Hana-san should be studying hard, too. Your finals are in less than a month," Chiho pointed out. I gave her a broken smile.

"Yeah, they are," I said. Silence fell and I suddenly remembered why I didn't socialize. I didn't know how to talk to the people that weren't my close friends. _What should I say? Should I comment about the weather, or-_

"I'm going over to Maou-san's house," Chiho unknowingly interrupted my train of though. "Do you wanna come with me?" she suggested. _Well, I guess I have nothing better to do._

"Why not," I replied and we started making our way towards Villa Rosa Sasazuka side by side. "So, you have some business with Maou-san?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Uh, well, I..." Chiho blushed a little. I'd almost forgotten she had a huge crush on Maou. "I was picking up his phone from MgRonald's, actually. He forgot it there today and since my shift ended later than his, he called me from Urushihara-san's phone and asked if I could bring it for him." She seemed to be happy about Maou trusting the task in guestion to her. _Such a small act made such an impact on her, huh? Love is strange._

"How come you just asked me to come with you to Maou-san's place? Aren't you afraid I'll try to hit on him?" I teased. She gave me a wide smile.

"Haha, I know you won't! I know you're more interested in Urushihara-san," Chiho said, looking at me with sly eyes. _Where'd her cuteness suddenly go?!_ "I guessed you wanted a reason to go to Castle Overlord, too," she continued. _Maou calls it that in front of her? Why does she like him again?_

"'Castle Overlord'?" I chuckled. Suddenly the redhead went a little uneasy.

"Uh, y-yeah. Maou-san's pretty bad at giving nicknames to things..." Chiho's eyes trailed off from me and she seemed to have gone really nervous, as if she'd said something wrong. Could it be that she knew about Maou and the rest, after all? _But she wouldn't be hanging out with them then, would she? I mean, I am, but I'm an angel. It's different! It's... it's actually worse, now that I think about it._

"Umm..." I began. _Maybe I should push her a little farther before asking anything too weird._ "He named his bicycle Dullahan, too. He's into some weird-ass stuff, isn't he? Like... I dunno... demonic stuff," I spoke._ I'm doing pretty well at this, it seems._

"U-uh... I don't know... I mean, I suppose he is..." Chiho stumbled. This, if nothing, was a clear sign for me to proceed.

"So... Chiho-chan, you ever heard about Ente Isla?" I asked, brushing back my hair. If she didn't know, she'd probably think it was a book or something. Chiho, however, jumped at the question and stopped walking. I stopped as soon as she did.

"HUH? You know about Ente Isla, Hana-san?!" Chiho asked, hands squeezed into fists. _Oh, so she does know. That means our lies were for nothing! How annoying._

"So you know too...?" I asked like it wasn't obvious already. "About Maou-san and the rest? That they're actually Satan and his generals?" Chiho nodded.

"I also know about Yusa-san and Kamazuki-san," she replied. "I found out about it when-" she cut herself off. "No, wait, how do _you_ know about them?" she asked, pointing at me.

"Uh, eh, I..." I felt uneasy looking at her in the eye. "I'm actually an angel..." I chuckled nervously. Chiho blinked a couple of times in confusion.

"You're not here to cause them trouble, are you?" Chiho asked with a demanding tone that made me back off a bit. _How could a girl so cute waver me like that? She must really love Maou!_

"No, I'm not! I don't think I could if I wanted to," I assured the girl, waving my hands in front of me. Her scary look soon turned into a smile.

"Oh... I'm sorry, it's just, angels usually cause trouble for them," Chiho said, rubbing the back of her head. "How come no one told me about you?" she asked almost a little depressed.

"They probably just didn't want to cause any trouble for us... I don't think it has anything to do with... um..." I tried to find the right words to calm down the situation. I didn't want to see her down just because of me and Ayame. I didn't think that would've looked good on me. "Oh, maybe they just didn't come to think of it."

"Maou-san didn't come to think of telling me..." Chiho half-muttered and began walking again. I followed her example with a worried expression. _I did this, didn't I?_ "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to mope around Hana-san!" she suddenly said, looking at me with an apologetic expression. "I'm sure you're right, it's most likely nothing!" she said, a smile on her lips. I guessed it was fake even though it looked very convincing to me. I didn't do this after all – it was Maou.

"Yeah," I replied. We walked most of the way in silence, sometimes commenting on something we saw or heard on the way. I even got to say something about the weather.

* * *

We walked up the stairs to Villa Rosa – as carefully as we could, of course – and entered the hallway. We walked over to the door 201 and Chiho hesitated before knocking. We heard footsteps nearing the door before it opened.

"Oh good, you're here, Sasaki-san. And... Wakahisa-san," the blond-haired male looked at me with narrowed eyes. _Shit, I forgot I didn't make that great of a first-impression on him. _Stealing from a guy probably doesn't make them fall head-over-heels for you. Not that I wanted him to, though. The "uptight housewife"-type might not go that well with me.

"Uh, hi," I greeted, raising a hand like I was about to wave. The blond ignored me and turned to Chiho again.

"By all means, come in," he said and moved out of the doorway, letting Chiho through. He looked at me with those narrowed eyes again before letting me inside. I returned his glare.

"Hey, Chii-chan. Did you bring it?" Maou asked, walking over to the redhead. Ashiya closed the door and walked over to the dishes. They'd just had dinner, it seemed.

"I did," Chiho said, digging out Maou's phone from her bag and giving it to him with a smile. "Here you go~."

"Thanks again, I really appreciate it. There might be an emergency somewhere," Maou replied and it made Chiho blush.

"Of course I'll help whenever you need me to," the redhead sang. Their chit-chat continued as I looked around in the room, sort of zoning out again. Urushihara was doing something on the computer like he usually did. The painting I brought over to "Castle Overlord" was now hanging on the wall and it looked like it was staring at Urushihara with its scary eyes. I walked a little closer to the purple-haired guy to look at the painting from his angle.

"That painting always scared the shit out of me. How can you stand it?" I asked him. The NEET turned his eyes from his computer screen to me. His look was apathetic to say the least.

"Ashiya suggested they'd point it at me 'to _motivate_ me to do some work'," Urushihara said, making quotation marks with his fingers. "It just creeps me out, to be honest."

"...about Hana-san?" I heard the end of Chiho's sentence, noticing my name being mentioned. I turned to look at her and Maou, crossing my arms.

"I- uh. I just didn't come to think of telling you," Maou said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh... is that so?" Chiho asked, obviously a little disappointed in the answer. For some reason the reaction went straight over Maou's head, though.

"Well it isn't like business from our world really should concern you, anyway," Maou added, worsening the situation he was in. He still didn't seem to realize what he was saying.

"Oh... I guess so..." Chiho's depression kept on growing. _What the hell are you doing, Maou?_

"Besides, I didn't really want to mess up Wakahisa-san's and her friends' lives that much," he added. _Oh my God, how stupid can you be?_

"Oh..." Chiho was pouting. _Why do I feel so guilty right now?_

"And to add-" Maou began, but was cut off.

"Maou, don't you realize you're making Chiho feel like she's not an important part of your life?" Urushihara lazily commented from his computer. That made Chiho go red.

"Huh?" Maou scratched his head in confusion.

"W-what are you saying, Urushihara-san?! Such weird things come out of your mouth sometimes!" Chiho yelled, hands squeezed into fists once more.

"Well, it's true that you love-" Urushihara began teasing, but got cut off by a phone flying against his forehead. "OUCH! What the hell did you do THAT for?!" he yelled, rubbing his forehead with one hand. I just watched the situation in front of me, blinking in confusion. Did they normally act like this?

"For disrespecting your guests!" Chiho yelled, face red from not only embarrasment, but also rage.

"That's gonna leave a mark!" Urushihara yelled back, hand still on the spot he'd been hit on. "Ahh!" he complained as he accidentally pressed it a little too hard. He looked kind of cute like that.

"Calm down, princess – just take a bag of something frozen from the freezer and press is against your forehead," Ashiya instructed from the kitchen-area.

"Fuck you, housewife!" Urushihara yelled at the blond man. Ashiya looked at him with the same narrowed eyes he'd looked at me earlier.

"What did you just say?" he replied.

"Guys, guys! We have guests, remember?" Maou tried calming down the situation. Suddenly every person in the room turned to look at me and I flinched at that.

"Ah, right... I'm sorry," Ashiya said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Then he turned back to the dishes.

"Pfft." Urushihara got up from his spot in front of the computer and reluctantly walked over to the freezer, finding something to put on his forehead. Chiho picked up her phone from the floor, checking if it was still intact. I just stood there for a while, going through what just happened in my head.

"Umm... uh, come to think of it, you didn't tell us about Chiho-chan, either... It would've saved us from some embarrassing moments," I said to Maou.

"Ah, well... she didn't seem like something I should mention," Maou said. Urushihara smacked a hand against his forehead and yelped in pain when he realized his fail. Ashiya looked at him with a satisfied smile. Chiho's expression was one of a zombie now. She reminded me a little bit of the chibi I drew earlier. The whole scene almost made me chuckle, but I held it in. These guys. These guys were pretty freaking entertaining.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Whoo! Hope you liked this chapter! It seems to end like, a little unfinished, since I decided once again to split it. Anyways, the story is slowly taking itself to the right direction. :3 See you somewhere next week and reviews would be appreciated, like always!**


	11. Chapter 10 - Butterflies

**[A/N]**

**Be ready for a lot of blushing this chapter! :3 Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10 – Butterflies

The time was nearing seven o'clock and I was still at the demons' place. Chiho and Maou had been chatting about work for quite a while now and I really didn't have anything to add into the conversation. Ashiya seemed to be done with his chores for the day and was sitting at the table with us, but avoided speaking to or even looking at me.

I didn't think anyone at the table was paying much attention to me, so I turned my head to look at the NEET in front of the computer. Maybe I could've watched him play or something - that way I wouldn't have died of boredom. I could've also left, but then I would've been without company again, and I was really in the need of some at the moment.

I crawled away from the table, stopping for a second before sitting next to Urushihara. No one said a word about me moving, so I crawled next to the fallen angel. He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"What're you playing?" I asked. He sighed, apparently thinking of me as a bother. I decided I wouldn't leave unless he told me to.

"This game where you build things out of blocks... It's pretty childish, but it's fun," he said with a monotone voice, barely noting my existence.

"Oh, I have that downloaded. CaveCraft, am I right?" I asked and he simply nodded. I watched for a second as he put down purple wool blocks. "Ayame-chan almost didn't let me buy it, but I showed her the trial version and she got addicted. She stole my computer for days, and-"

"_Buy_? Did I hear right, Urushihara? You _bought_ something with Maou-sama's money?" Ashiya spoke from the table with a scary tone that made me shiver. The look in his eyes was fairly dangerous as he walked from the table to tower over Urushihara. The purple-haired demon looked at me with anger. I gave him an apologetic smile and shrugged. "How much exactly did this something cost?"

"Not much – get off me!" Urushihara yelled to the blond man and shoved him back. A single drop of sweat could be seen on his temple.

"You know you're not allowed to buy anything from the internet!" Ashiya yelled, pointing a finger at the shorter demon. Maou sighed, watching the situation from afar with Chiho.

"Don't be such a pain in the ass, Ashiya. It's not that big of a deal," Urushihara replied, turning halfway back towards his game.

"No, you don't go saying that same garbage again! We use that money for food, you know!" Ashiya continued his rambling. It appeared it was Maou's turn to speak again.

"Listen, the both of you! I already said you should continue fighting when our guests have taken their leave," Maou said, staring at the two intensly. At that moment something inside Ashiya's head seemed to snap.

"OH, certainly, Maou-sama! I will be quiet and act politely in front of the one who STOLE from us, and besides that, is our _natural enemy_! I'll act very nicely in front of her, I'll make sure to! I'll even buy her flowers for the next time she visits! Oh, and I'll gladly try and scrape something together for dinner with the huge amounts of money you and Lucifer use on useless junk, like games and movies! I'll gladly watch while you have your fun and I'm stuck here cleaning and cooking week to week, not knowing if I'll ever be done with it or if you even have a plan anymore! I'll be sure to do all that just for you, Maou-sama! After all, I _am_ your loyal servant!" the blonde screamed at Maou, making over-exaggerated hand motions as he spoke. _No, this is too much. I should've left while I was still able to..._ Maou stood up and gritted his teeth together.

"First of all, she gave the money back. Second of all, I do have a plan! And I have to work hard, too! I bring the money to the table and you know that! A life of a MgRonald's employee isn't that easy either!" Maou was raising his voice too, making similar hand motions to Ashiya.

"Well, if you bring the money to the table, why don't you also take better care of it! You know our money situation, but you still let Urushihara do his share of spending! Why is that, Maou-sama?!" Ashiya replied, growing visibly angrier every second.

"You know exactly why!" Maou replied. Urushihara was following the conversation with odd interest, raising a brow at the raven-haired man's words. Ashiya moved his gaze to the floor, holding back his yelling.

"Maybe we should all c-calm down..." Chiho suggested from her seat, standing up next to Maou.

"I'm going for a walk," Ashiya hissed and walked over to the door, putting on his shoes. _Leaving the battlefield, huh? I'd do the same I suppose._

"I'm coming with you," Maou said, to my surprise. The blond man didn't look at the other one, just stood there and waited. Maou put on his shoes as Ashiya left the aparment. "This might take a while..." Maou said before opening the door. "You can help yourselves to the fridge – except for you, Urushihara – if you want to. If you're gonna stay, I mean." The man's eyes were on me when he spoke his last sentence.

"I'll leave with you, Maou-san," Chiho said, waking up from a shock of some degree. I simply smiled at her when she looked at me.

"I... I'll leave in a minute," I said to her. She eyed first me and then Urushihara, nodding. Then she walked over to the door, collected her shoes and left. Maou closed the door behind them. "Well... that was something," I awkwardly said as I turned around to face Urushihara. He was staring at me, probably surprised I didn't leave at the same time they did. I felt my face heat up slightly as I blushed. "U-um..."

"Was there something you needed...?" Urushihara asked somewhat awkwardly and turned back to his game. I flinched at the question.

"U-uh, not really, I just..." I rubbed the back of my head, looking away from the other angel. "I... I feel like that was my fault. I'm sorry," I sighed, looking at Urushihara from the corner of my eye. He looked back to me. "Does that hurt, by the way?" I asked, referring to the bruise on his forehead. Chiho's phone really _had_ left a mark.

"Uh... no, it's fine..." he said, turning to look away from me again. Was he maybe... just maybe... blushing too? "I think Ashiya's been about to have a breakdown for a while now..." he said as casually as he could. "He's been complaining about things more, I think. Well, I haven't really paid that much attention... but I've felt his glares increase in the past few months."

"I-is that so?" I stuttered somewhat relieved. "I'm still sorry I busted you, though..." I nervously chuckled.

"It's fine," he quickly replied, still avoiding eye-contact with me. There was a short silence before one of us spoke again.

"U-um... so... I was just thinking..." I said, trying to play off the awkwardness. It didn't help much, considering what I was about to say next. "When we played together last Friday... I thought it was fun..." I drifted off a bit and this time I caught him blushing, even if just slightly. "I-I just thought maybe you'd wanna play again... like... tomorrow, maybe?" It was originally Gina's suggestion that we'd play again, but for a while now I'd been wanting to do it, too. We really made a good team on RoW.

"Well... I kinda promised you then, I guess... so why not," he said. _Why the hell are we both so awkward? This is making my nervousness grow._

"Cool," I replied. Silence fell again after that and I bet my cheeks were rose-red by now. There were just too many reasons for me to go and hop under a train. And what were these weird butterflies in my stomach? _I couldn't be..._ I shook off the thought as soon as it came. "I-I guess I'm gonna head home now," I said with a fake smile and stood up.

"Talk to you tomorrow, I guess," Urushihara replied. He'd apparently managed to shake off most of his embarrasment, since his tone was back to monotone.

"Yeah," I replied, putting on my shoes and leaving the apartment. As soon as I walked out I almost ran through the hallway and on the stairs. I stood at the top of the staircase, back leaning against the hallway door. My heart was racing a little.

_Ugh, gather your thoughts, you weakling! You shouldn't be thinking nor acting like a teenaged girl!_ I slapped myself on the cheek. _Better head home before my train of thought runs over me and leaves me in a coma._ I took a deep breath, walking down the stairs. However, on the fourth step...

I slipped. The step had given in a little more than I'd assumed, and before I even knew it, I was flying down the metal stairs. My hands were reached out towards the top of the staircase, looking for something to grab onto. Sadly, there was nothing for me to grab and I fell all the way down to the cold, hard ground. I felt it especially well on my back as it hit the ground first, my legs landing against the staircase. I shrieked in sudden pain, squeezing my eyelids closed for a second.

The next time I opened my eyes I saw Urushihara staring at me from the top of the stairs. I felt heat rush to my cheeks as soon as I saw him, forcing my body to sit up and crawl a little farther away from him.

"I heard you fall down... are you alright?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. I pulled my knees a little closer to my chest, as if to protect myself from the look he was giving me. It was a mix of boredom, annoyance and curiosity all together.

"A little bruised... but alive," I replied, smiling. He smirked at me.

"I was wondering when you'd fall down... Every girl visiting here has," he said, leaning against the door frame.

"Is that so?" I chuckled, getting up the best I could and collecting my bag from the ground. I looked through its insides, making sure nothing was broken.

"Well... I'm gonna go back now," he said, looking into the hallway. "Bye."

"Bye," I replied, waving at him as he disappeared inside the building. He was undeniably... cute.

* * *

After I left the demons' stronghold I went back to the dormitory. Ayame was done with her studying for the day and I got a friend to do something with. She was, however, tired from all the work she'd done and fell asleep in the middle of an episode of The Moving Dead. She didn't even make fun of my "_social butterfly_-ness", or ask about the bruises on my legs. It kind of left me disappointed.

The day ended and a new one began. I went to school, like I always did (well, almost always) and got back to the dormitory. I almost forgot I'd asked Urushihara to play with me and Gina again, but as soon as I remembered, a blush appeared on my cheeks.

I dialed in Gina's number from memory and called it.

"Hi... you're free, right?" I asked a little reluctantly. She still didn't know I'd asked Urushihara.

"_Only for you~_" a playful voice teased. I sighed. "_What's up?_"

"...wanna play RoW again?" I asked after a long pause.

"_What, what, whaaaat?! Did you ask Urushihara-kun?_" Gina giggled.

"I-I did. I think we three make a good team..." I said.

"_Aww, cool, let me just get my computer! I'm done with my homework, anyway,_" she said. I heard footsteps as she ran somewhere, likely to find her laptop.

"I'll call you on Skyphone..." I said, hanging up. I sighed in relief. One down, one to go... sadly, the second one was a boss fight. I gathered all my courage before finding the number. I was so flustered the day before, I... I was afraid I couldn't speak a word to him. I stared at the screen before bravely clicking the call-button and placing the phone against my ear.

"_Urushihara,_" he answered, his usual bored tone noticable in his words. _Maybe I should've texted him instead... I can't come up with any words to say._ "_You called Matsuoka-san already?_" he asked after a short silence. He must've noticed I went speechless.

"Uh... um, I did," I managed to say. "Sorry, I just... uh, nevermind... I-"

"_You could've just written to me online, or you know, texted me, since you obviously still can't form sentences,_" he said, interrupting my stuttering. That really hit a nerve right there.

"Oh, but then I wouldn't have heard the oh-so-lovely sound of your voice, Urushihara-kun," I hissed, sarcasm obvious in my statement.

"_Wow, you're actually getting mad... Wouldn't have thought you'd be so comfortable around me already~_" the demon teased.

"Wouldn't have thought you'd be blushing in front of me yet, either. You must really be into me, huh?" I shot back with odd confidence.

"_I-! S-shut up. Just log on and we'll play,_" he said before ending the call. I listened to the beeps, thinking of what I'd just said – and heard! He was actually stuttering...

"Why are you so red?" Ayame asked from her studying desk. It appeared she'd listened to my side of the conversation with Urushihara and was now smirking devilishly. Both of my hands flew on my cheeks, trying to hide my embarrasment. It was useless, since she'd already seen the blush.

"N-no reason..." I said, ignoring her stare and making my way to my desk. I opened up the laptop on it, still feeling the blonde's stare. I heard her chair squeak as she turned around to face her homework again. My headphones were already attached to the laptop, so I just put them on my ears. I looked at my Skyphone, seeing both of the other players online. Gina added me to their group call.

"_Hana-chaaaaaann~! You're finally here!_" she giggled.

"Finally? I took like two minutes," I said, leaning slightly against the table.

"_I know, I know. I'm just excited,_" she said. It sounded like she was jumping on her chair. "_Let's play already!_"

"_Oh, I think it's Matsuoka-san's turn to be the healer,_" Urushihara said. I opened up the game and waited for it to load.

"_No it isn't! I mean... I thought it was Urushihara-kun's,_" Gina said, suddenly sounding a little depressed.

"Well, it definitely isn't my turn. I was it the last time," I said, watching as my character selection opened up on the screen. I chose my blood elf and entered the world. "Besides, it doesn't really matter when we're doing the easier quests."

"_You're right. We don't really need anyone to be the healer before we reach the harder ones,_" Gina said, apparently having cheered up again.

"_Only if I had even the first extension pack,_" Urushihara said, sighing.

"Oh, right. I was supposed to go and find one myself," I said. "I don't know why I forgot."

"_Could you find one for me too? I'll pay you,_" Urushihara asked. He really didn't show any signs of being affected by our previous awkwardness. I decided to try and be strong, too.

"With Maou-san's money?" I asked after a pause, smirking. He of course couldn't hear my expression, but I believed he could feel it in my voice.

"_Naturally,_" he replied.

"_You're not stealing from the poor guy, are you? I mean, you shouldn't be doin' that,_" Gina chuckled. It didn't sound like it, but she was being serious. I knew it from experience. She just didn't speak in her serious voice to a person she'd just met a little while ago. Also, "poor guy" - how fitting. I held back a giggle.

"_He'll survive,_" Urushihara said. I helped him kill a pack of gremlins that'd attacked us.

* * *

After a few hours of playing we began hearing loud sounds from what I believed was Urushihara's house. The voices sounded like they belonged to Maou, Ashiya, Yusa and... Kamazuki, maybe? I raised a brow at the yelling, but the other two players of course couldn't hear it. Urushihara sighed and I heard what I think was the closet door opening, since the voices suddenly became a lot clearer.

"..._and I really don't appreciate you sneaking up around our house!_" Was that Ashiya's voice?

"_Oy you, yes, ALL of you! Could you please just SHUT UP?_" Urushihara yelled at the arguing bunch. Me and Gina followed their conversation. I knew she was doing it too. She loved to gossip about things like these.

"_You! You stay quiet, Lucifer! No one asked you!_" Yusa's voice was the last thing we heard. I think he muted his microphone after that.

"_What the hell is going on there?_" Gina asked. I _knew_ she was listening.

"I don't know... They seem to fight over everything over there," I sighed.

"_Reminds me of you, Hana-chan. You always argue about everything,_" Gina chuckled.

"No I don't," I said, unknowingly proving her point to be at least partially true. "I-I mean..." I stuttered when I realized my mistake.

"_Why was Yusa-san calling Urushihara-kun "Lucifer"? You know, if she was talking to him. I'm pretty sure she was, though,_" Gina pondered.

"Eh, uh... It's just a nickname they made up for him, I guess?" I lied.

"_What a mean nickname,_" Gina said.

"I... suppose so," I replied, blinking. I sometimes forgot this world connected some of us to it's religions and stuff. Like Lucifer being the fallen angel (...like he actually was), in some religions Satan himself, giving Eve the apple and such. _Why the hell do I know this again? Has school actually managed to permanently place some information in my brain? Why was I paying attention to that particular information?_ I blinked again.

"_Why are you being so quiet, Hana-chan?_" Gina asked and snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Eh, no reason," I said and slapped myself gently on the cheek. _Focus, Drea. Focus._ Suddenly Urushihara's mike was turned back on and some loud rustling and yelling could be heard on the backround.

"_I'm gonna have to leave now... This is not gonna work with those four going at it,_" Urushihara said, sighing.

"_Don't you have any other place to go to?_" Gina asked.

"_If I had, I'd gone there ages ago. Anyways, I'm gonna leave now,_" he said, waiting for us to say our goodbyes.

"Urushihara-kun? Let's play together again..." I said, smiling. There was a pause before anyone said anything.

"_Yeah... bye,_" he said.

"_Byee~!_" Gina said. I felt like she was waving behind the screen, but of course I couldn't be sure.

"Bye," I said. Urushihara left the call and Gina and I logged out of the game.

"_So... are you ready to admit that you have a crush on him?_" Gina chuckled.

"I... don't know yet," I said, avoiding the question.

"_Haa! So cute! Well, anyways. I'm gonna go now. See you like... umm... Weekend sound good? Good. See you then!_" Gina said, leaving the call before I could reply. There was still a smile on my face when I turned around on my chair, wanting to read some of my mangas. When I turned around, however, I saw a smirking Ayame looking at me.

"...shut up," I said as I walked over to my side of our bookshelf.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**So there it is! Hana-chan is sort of admitting her crush now :3 - and there's more to come! I'll update somewhere later this week, so be ready. Reviews and stuff would be awesome~!**


	12. Chapter 11 - Coincidences can be fun

**[A/N]**

**Here is the newest chapter! Things are like, almost escalating and stuff! I didn't know a story was supposed to do that... :o**

* * *

Chapter 11 – Coincidences can be fun

It was finally lunchtime. Everyone in the music class collected their bags and left in their usual groups. Me and Ayame were one of the last to leave, like we usually were. We sort of wondered where the other students were hurrying after every single class. Probably socializing, to be honest.

"You wanna have lunch at MgRonald's? I mean, we've been avoiding it for a few days now. Maybe it's time to face our demons," Ayame laughed, putting her notebooks into her bag and throwing it onto her shoulder.

"Very funny," I replied, joining in on her laughing. We left the classroom and ended up in the hallway, where we made our way towards the main lobby.

"What class did Gina have again?" Ayame asked. Neither of us really never learned her shcedule properly. I didn't know why that was.

"Uh, I think it's-"

"No, I'm sorry," we heard a familiar voice from behind a corner, a short corridor parting from the main one we were walking. "I... I don't want to date _anyone_ right now." Gina's voice echoed slightly in the mostly empty corridors. Teens were really fast at leaving for lunchbreak, so there weren't many students around anymore.

"Oh... Well, uh, call me if you change your mind?" another voice replied. Me and Ayame had stopped near the smaller corridor and gave each other odd looks.

"Sure," Gina replied to the male voice. Soon after that a tall, good-looking male student walked from behind the corner and gave us a startled look. Of course he didn't realize we were listening. Then he sped up slightly and left.

"Gina-chan?" Ayame spoke as Gina walked from behind the corner, too. She gave us a surprised look and then a smile spread across her face.

"Oh, ahahaha! Hey, you guys! I didn't know you were there," she said, her cheery attitude present as always.

"Were sorry," I apologized, even bowing. That made both Ayame and Gina let out a chuckle.

"Really now, it's alright. This happens more often than you'd think..." the blue-haired girl said and rubbed her neck. _I guess she didn't realize how smug that sounded just now._

"No, we know you're popular with the guys," Ayame said, giving her a suggestive smile. Gina laughed at that and I sort of started spacing out. Gina must've noticed that, since she pointed her next question to me - well, at least she looked at me while saying it.

"So~, where are we gonna eat today?" she chirped, grabbing one of both mine and Ayame's wrists. She pulled us into movement as she did and we continued our journey to the lobby. "Are we still avoiding MgRonald's?" she added, looking at me from the corner of her eye. _How did she...?!_

"Oh, you noticed?" Ayame asked, smiling a little awkwardly.

"Well, it wasn't_ that_ hard to realize. We basically live there, you know," Gina said. I sighed at a loss for anything better to say. Ayame giggled.

"Well, you see... You know we spoke about how one of Urushihara-kun's roommates is working at MgRonald's? Ya'know, when we went shopping?" Ayame asked and Gina nodded as a response. "That's mostly the reason why... but, umm, Sadao Maou is actually the black-haired guy you're always crushing on."

"What? He is?!" Gina yelled, stopping in her tracks and turning around to face us. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because... we'd have to introduce you and it's awkward," I said and then fell back to my safe silence. Ayame looked at me and then nodded a little reluctantly.

"Oh, come on! That's the stupidest reason ever!" Gina yelled, raising her hands high up in an overly dramatic way. "We're going to MgRonald's today~!" she exclaimed and kept walking. We followed her to the lockers in the main lobby and I gave a loud sigh. I knew we had to deal with it sooner or later.

* * *

As soon as we got to MgRonald's I was ready to hold Gina down. She looked at me with sparkling eyes as we entered the fast-food place and pushed the door open with her back. My anxiety just kept on growing. She was _so_ going to do something terrible.

"I can't wait to meet him! I can't!" she quietly giggled and turned around to head for the register. However, immediately after turning around, she stopped walking. I looked at Ayame, who was looking over to the register and followed her gaze to it. _Oh, thank God!_

"Looks like he isn't at work right now," Ayame smirked and headed for our regular corner table. I followed her with a pleased smile.

"Oww! That can't be!" Gina complained and sat across me and Ayame. "I really wanted to meet him..." she continued and looked over to the unknown employees at the registers.

"Sorry, but it's just not his shift," I said, leaning back in my seat. "We should order anyway, now that we're here I mean."

"Yeah. Come now, you'll meet him another time," Ayame said and got up from the table, leaving her bag on the sofa and only taking her wallet with her. I did the same after she moved and unblocked my passage from the corner spot.

"Still... I was so sure he'd be here," Gina said and got up from her seat, leaving her bag as well. She sighed deeply and headed over for the counter, lining behind Ayame and myself. She had a really disappointed look on her face and I couldn't help but smile.

"Don't pout now. It's affecting me in a way I don't appreciate," I chuckled. Suddenly a smirk appeared on Gina's face and she raised a brow at me. _What...? Oh._ I began chuckling when I realized my line could be taken in more than one way. _Why do I have pervy friends again?_

"This register's free, miss," a soft male voice spoke and alerted me. I realized I was just standing there not ordering anything and gave the guy an apologetic smile. I looked at Ayame from the corner of my eye. Her order was being made by the guy at the other register.

"A Big Mag burger and a large coke," I said and took out my wallet.

"Anything else?" the guy asked with a smile, typing something on the cash register. I shook my head.

"No, thanks," I said and gave him the money before he could even ask.

"Alright, just a moment," he said and went to fetch my burger and coke. I took the time to look over to Ayame, who'd just gotten her fries, coke and ice cream. _Ice cream? Man, I should've gotten one of those! Well, I'll manage._

"Enjoy your meal!" the guy who made Ayame's meal said and Ayame moved away from the line. The brunette guy was just about to take Gina's order, when...

"Hey, it's time for your break," Maou's voice spoke from behind the brunet.

"I'll just take this customer," the brunet replied with a smile and Maou nodded. Then he turned to Gina, flinching a little at the sight of her. The look on her face was scary to say the least: She looked like she was a crocodile who'd just seen Captain Hook. _Holy shit._ I'd already accepted the thought that Maou wasn't at work today, and suddenly BAM! - and my thoughts were all messed up again. Like, why couldn't he be consistent?

"Ahem," a voice in front of me made me turn towards him. _Oh, I didn't notice my order was ready._ I blushed a little as I took my tray. "Enjoy your meal!" the employee said with a smile and I headed for our table. Ayame moved from my way as I sat into my corner and sighed.

"Did you notice him?" I asked my blonde friend who dipped a fry in ketchup.

"I did," she replied, sighing as well. "I hope she doesn't freak out."

"Likewise," I said and opened up my hamburger box.

Gina didn't take too long with her offer and soon she was sitting at the table with us, too. The minute she arrived she put a wide smile on her face.

"I can't believe I'm gonna meet him!" she giggled, looking over to the registers. Maou was exchanging a word with the brunet guy before walking to the register and noticing us in the corner. I was sure he'd seen us earlier, too, but he waved at us only now. "Wow, so you do actually know him? I wasn't completely sure if you were lying or not," Gina said, looking at us with a hint of suspicion on the corner of her eye.

"We do..." Ayame said, lazily waving back at the raven. "You wanna talk to him after we've eaten?" she suggested.

"Sounds good!" Gina replied, attacking her meal.

* * *

After we were done eating we collected our bags and got rid of our empty trays and leftover trash. Then, it was time for the moment of truth. I took a deep breath before walking over to the cash register with the other two girls. Ayame looked as worried as I did, but Gina was smiling as brightly as ever. That made us even more worried.

"Honda-san, Wakahisa-san, how's it going?" the raven asked with a smile and looked around the hall. I felt a little awkward about our timing, since Maou seemed to be very keen on his job. He even made us wait for an hour last time - even though I had to admit the conversation then was probably better to have while sitting down.

"Well, you know, studying hard for our finals..." Ayame said, secretly leaving me out of her statement. Maou's eyes soon made it to the third girl, Gina. "Ah, Maou-san, this is our friend – Gina Matsuoka. Gina-chan, this is Sadao Maou."

"Nice to meet you," Gina said with a smile and bowed.

"Oh, I've seen you around. You three often eat here around lunchtime, don't you?" Maou said, looking through us one at a time. "You stand out pretty well, too."

"Hahahaha! I suppose I do!" Gina laughed, twirling a lock of electric blue hair around her finger. _She seems so uncomfortably flirty right now..._

"We don't have a lot of time before our classes continue... We just wanted to say hi," Ayame said. "So... hi."

"Hope you don't mind us bothering you at work..." I said a little monotone. Was Urushihara's way of speaking sticking on me?

"No, it's alright, I suppose... It's been a little slow, anyway," Maou said, leaning an elbow against the register. "The SFC on the other side of the road is pretty much pulling all our customers..." Maou began, but stopped himself before starting to ramble. The place really seemed empty. "Oh, sorry, you were in a hurry!"

"Yeah, we are... but you know, I'll eat here instead of SFC from now on, if it helps," Gina said and smiled. _Well, you mostly already do, but whatever._

"You don't have to sacrifice if you-"

"No, it's fine!" Gina chuckled. "I like eating here~."

"Well, thanks then. It certainly helps my paycheck," Maou laughed. _Did her implication completely go over his head? I bet it did._

"We're gonna head out now. Nice chatting with you, Maou-san," Ayame said and began walking over to the door.

"It was _really_ nice meeting you~" Gina said, flipping her hair as she walked away from the register. _Really? A hair flip?_

"See you around," I said a little lazily before following my friends. I was a bit tempted to ask about the fight between him and the others, but didn't go throught with it. Maou waved at us as we left.

* * *

The rest of the school day for me was checking my phone every five to ten minutes. Gina was constantly speaking about how amazingly handsome Maou looked or how she totally didn't know how to feel. Very cliched teen stuff, I mean. Then she went through all her former boyfriends and experiences in love. I wished I could've unseen all the annoying messages she sent, but I couldn't. I could've always used a memory wiping spell on myself, but my magic was all drained out.

At some point of the conversation I had to remind Gina that Chiho actually had a huge crush on Maou too. To that Gina only replied with "Oh, I know! I just think he's cute, I'm not gonna do anything about it! LOL!" I wasn't sure if I should've believed her or not. It was very uncommon for her to have a crush on anything but a manga character. Besides, an older guy like Maou must've been a great challenge for a boy magnet like her. _I wonder if Gina would still like him if she knew he's a demon lord._

* * *

After surviving another bombing to my cell Ayame and I met Gina outside the main door. I was leaning against the wall and Ayame was going through her schedule for tomorrow when the tall girl immersed from the crowd with a wide smile.

"Hello again my little ones," Gina chuckled.

"Hey," Ayame greeted and put her calendar back into her bag.

"So, what is it? You have like five minutes before your next class starts, don't you?" I asked, moving my weight from the wall to my legs and stepping away from it.

"I just wanted to see you," Gina said and poked me on my arm. "I also wanted to say... Well, I was gonna study today, but I don't feel like it anymore! What I really wanna do is play some more RoW, you know. I know I said we'd do something this weekend, but I already wanna play again – no, I _need to_ play again."

"So... you want me to call Urushihara-kun and arrange another gaming session?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, I really wanna play tonight. Pleeeease!" she pleaded, crossing her hands even. _That's probably why she wanted to see me in person... She can't beg with that puppy-dog expression through text messages. No emoji is enough to cause the same effect on me._

"She'll do it! She'll do it!" Ayame playfully yelled, acting like she was horrified of Gina's cuteness. I smiled at the two. "Just stop the adorableness!"

"Mmh, I think I can do it..." I said, keeping my cool. Secretly I was a little happy I got to play with Urushihara again so soon.

"Oh, great! It's just... I don't think I could focus on studying today," Gina chuckled against her hand. "Well, my classes are continuing. You guys are so lucky getting off at two!" she said, waving at us as she left. "Bye!" We waved back before turning to each other.

"We should head to our dorm," Ayame said, pointing a finger towards the dormitories.

"Ah, you go ahead... I have something I'd like to do before that," I replied, causing Ayame to tilt her head in confusion.

"You do?" she asked, the confusion clear in her tone.

"Mhm, I'm gonna go buy a certain game," I said with a smile.

"Hope it isn't too costly," she said and crossed her arms. "You know our money situation is getting worse by the day."

"I know, I know. We shouldn't be spending so much anymore, but... I just really _need_ it right now. Besides, it wasn't that expensive when I last looked at it."

"Fine, go on then... but I warned you," Ayame said, pointing a daring finger at me. I chuckled and waved at her as I headed into town.

* * *

I was looking through the smallish game store's large windows, searching for a certain muscular employee. I didn't dare go in before I was sure the route was clear, so I double- an triple-checked the place from outside. After that I took a deep breath and entered the dragon's den.

The store didn't look quite the same as when we got chased by that crazy person. The large amount of brightly coloured "SALE"-signs and the masses of gamers were gone. I was glad of the latter, but the first sort of worried me. I walked through the shelves and to the RPG-section to find my game.

"Ahh! It's not here!" I accidentally spoke my thoughts out loud and covered my mouth. I got a look from the only other customer at the store and smiled awkwardly at him. He was a man of about forty, roaming around the store like a lost child. He seemed somewhat confused about everything around him and that might've been the reason the store attracted him in.

I shook my head and woke myself from my thoughts, looking over to the counter a bit reluctantly. _Do I really have to talk to an employee...? I don't like people doing their jobs. They scare me._

I walked through the shelves, stopping for a second before walking over to the counter. Behind it was a tall young woman with long, black hair and big glasses. She looked nice, so I wasn't too afraid of her presence.

"Uh... Hi. You wouldn't still happen to have any of the Realm of Warship extension packs, would you?" I asked, squeezing the strap of my school bag with one hand.

"Mmh, I'm not sure... Which ones are you talking about?" she asked, furrowing her brows a bit as she thought.

"The first one," I replied.

"I think we had a couple left over... I'll have to check from our storage," she said, turning towards a computer at the counter and starting to click through things. It felt almost a little cold at the store now that all the people were gone and the air-conditioning was doing it's magic. I raised a hand on my arm like it would warm me up or something. "Yeah, we actually do have a couple left over from our sale last week. If you want, I can sell one at the same price they were then."

"I need two copies, actually," I said, turning to look at the woman again.

"Two it is. I'll go get them for you from the back," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," I replied. She headed for the back room and I slightly leaned against the counter.

* * *

I gave the black-haired woman the money for the games and headed for the door with a white plastic bag in my hand. I was just about to open the door, when someone else from the other side pulled it open in front of me. I stepped back when I realized there was another person there and I almost stepped back again when I realized who it was.

"Hana-san?" a pretty, brown-haired highschool girl asked as she stepped into the store, still holding onto the open door.

"Hi, Etsuko-san," I greeted lifelessly, still a little stunned by our sudden meeting. I seemed to be bumping into people randomly all the time nowadays. "What are you doing here?" was the first thing to pop up in my head. Etsuko let go of the door and we moved from in front of it.

"I came here to look for a vintage game," she said like she was a professional. "You know I collect those." _Yes... yes I do. I know you like bragging about your gamerness-ness...ness, Etsuko-dear._ "It's rarer to see you in a game store, to be honest. You play like, what, two games?"

"Three... But it's not that big of a difference, I suppose," I said, trying to hold back my sarcasm. _Why do you have to be so annoying, Etsuko? How did you even manage to make that line insulting?_

"No, it doesn't. Hey, now that you're here, what are you doing tonight? We could go see a movie or something," she suggested with a cheery tone.

"Oh, sorry, I already have plans..." I said.

"Wow, _you_ have plans? Hahahaha! Well, I guess it can't be helped..." Etsuko said, wiping a fake tear from the corner of her eye. "What about... I dunno, the weekend?"

"Well, I sort of agreed on something then, too," I said and scratched my head. It was a little odd for me to have my calendar full for the rest of the week.

"Is that so?" Etsuko asked, her expression darkening a bit. I wasn't sure if I should've been happy or scared about the sudden change. "With that one guy you told me about at school?" she added, her tone sounding somewhat venomous. What was she getting so mad about all of a sudden?

"Well... sort of, yeah. Is that a problem?" I asked, blinking.

"No, no... not at all. It's just..." Etsuko spoke, looking around her like she was about to tell me a secret. "You know, I've been talking to Nobuko-chan lately... and she agrees that you've spent less time with your friends, you know. That you're getting too attached to that boy or something." _Wait, what? Where the hell did she get that?! I haven't been even talking to him much. And how the heck did Nobuko know about Urushihara?_

"What...?" was all I could say.

"Yeah... I've heard some rumors about it. I mean, your friends might not like it if you get too attached to a guy, you know. No offense, of course! It's just, you know... something you should keep in mind," Etsuko said, flipping her hair back. _Something to keep in mind? Was that a threat or something? What?_

"Umm... I haven't even known him that long and this thing you imagine between us... isn't there, you know," I replied.

"Mmh, you're probably right... Sorry, I overstepped my boundaries. I just speak what I hear, you know," Etsuko said with a dismissive undertone. "I-I'm sorry, nevermind what I just said. It's just plain silly, now that I think about it!" she chuckled. Was she jealous of me or something? Did she think I was threatening her throne, maybe?_ I don't get it. I'm not that special to be fought over._

"Uh... Oh," I said and just stood there like and idiot for a moment. "Oh, um. I've gotta go now... Maybe we'll do something another time," I said, hoping we wouldn't.

"Yeah, let's," she said, the cheery smile returning on her face as she waved me goodbye. I gave her a fake smile before leaving the store.

* * *

The encounter I'd had with Etsuko left me puzzled to say the least and I almost didn't find the right way to walk back home. By now I'd returned to the dormitory and changed my clothes, though.

I was sitting at my table in a black top and green sweatpants, since I was going to play the whole evening anyway. Ayame was studying over at Nobuko's room, so I had the room all to myself. I found my phone from my school bag and found Urushihara's number, calling it.

"Hi, Urushihara-kun. Hope I'm not bothering you?" I asked.

"_Nah, it's fine. What's up?_" he replied with his usual tone.

"Well, uh, I was just wondering if we could play again today. I mean, Gina-chan asked if we'd like to... If you don't got anything better to do," I said, stumbling with my words a bit. There was a short silence before he answered again.

"_It's not like I have a job or something. I have time, so why not,_" he said.

"_You could also help with the housework, you know,_" came a muffled up voice from the backround. I chuckled at that.

"So I'll see you online?" I asked, already opening up my Skyphone.

"_Yup,_" he replied before hanging up. I put away the phone from my ear and noticed the small smile that'd spread across my face. It caused me to blush, but I didn't mind too much since no one was there to see it. I typed in Gina's number and called it with delight.

"Hey, Gina-chan~! Are you ready?" I greeted with an uncomfortable cheeriness.

"_...Wow, you really sound creepy like that. Anyways, I'm sorry! I can't!_" Gina replied. That made my heart skip a beat.

"You can't? Why the hell not?!" I yelled, all of my confidence crumbling down like a house of cards.

"_Well, uh, I'd kinda forgotten the reason I made plans with you for the weekend... You see, I promised to go study at Nobuko-san's,_" Gina spoke with an apologetic tone.

"W-when did you do that?" I asked and pushed my free hand into my hair, tugging at the white and green locks.

"_When I comforted her, remember? I'm so sorry, since I was the one to make the plans!_" Gina apologized, probably even bowed down as she did. "_We'll play this weekend. Promise!_"

"That's... That's fine," I said, leaning myself against my table, defeated.

"_Well, I gotta go now... Bye~!_"

"Bye," I said and Gina hung up. The lilac phone slipped from my grasp and on the table, making a loud thud. _Why did I have to call Urushihara first...?_ Now I was in an awkward social situation._ I don't like awkward social situations. Besides... I actually wanted to play with them... with _him.

I raised myself from my desk, put on my headphones and sighed deeply. I clicked to call on Skyphone and Urushihara soon answered.

"Hey, uh, Gina-chan couldn't make it after all... So I guess we'll call this game night off?" I said, chuckling a bit.

"_You could've just typed that,_" Urushihara said. _Well, I could've... Shit, I actually could've. I guess I was too overcome by depression to realize that._

"Oh, yeah, I guess so..." I laughed. There was a silence for a while.

"_You know... We could play even if Matsuoka-san isn't here,_" Urushihara said. _What?_

"Huh? B-but we can't progress without her," I replied, stuttering a little.

"_Not RoW, but something else. Like... Hearthrock, maybe? You play it too, right?_" _He remembers that? No, wait, he wants to play it... with _me?

"I do... but I've been sucking at it lately."

"_That's alright with me. It'd be just fun to have a familiar opponent, you know._" My heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah, sure, let's play it..." I said, trying to sound even remotely cool. I was so... confused. But glad in a way. I double-clicked on the Hearthrock icon and entered the cardgame. "So, you really like Lizzard-games, too?"

"_I do, amongst others. RPG:s are usually the most fun to play, but Hearthrock somehow got me addicted like crazy._"

"Haha, is that so? A friend actually told me about Heartrock. She hasn't really played with me in a long time, don't know why," I said and leaned my chin against my hand.

"_So is your account-name same as your Skyphone-name?_"

"Yeah."

"_I'll send you a friend request._" I waited only about ten seconds before receiving the request, immediately accepting it. Then I sent him a challenge. He agreed.

"You always play with a shaman?"

"_Pretty much. Sometimes I use hunter or warrior. Do you always play with a rogue?_"

"Most of the time, yeah," I said and looked through my cards. _Alright for an opening, I suppose... Wait, what am I doing? I'm focusing on the game when I'm talking to Urushihara. Alone._ Well, I guessed Ashiya was there since I'd heard his voice earlier, but close enough. Suddenly I became very aware of the purple-haired demon's presence, even if it was only through the computer.

"_Of course you're using your extra mana right in the beginning..._" I bet he was rolling his eyes right now.

"Yeah... uh..." I ended my turn in the game and tried to come up with something else to chat about. "So... What happened with the fight your roommates were having with Yusa-san and Kamazuki-san?"

"_Huh...? Oh, that. Well... It started from the fight between Maou and Ashiya. They were continuing their arguments for the second day and I was getting pretty pissed. Only, I wasn't the only one. Suzuno had heard their yelling and came over to complain. The fight alarmed Yusa, who was stalking us nearby and she barged in, blaiming us for doing "something terrible" again,_" Urushihara explained and ended his turn in the game. The story made me chuckle.

"How did it end?" I asked, still smiling.

"_I think Yusa's phone started ringing and she headed over to whatever emergency awaited her... After that Ashiya started cooking and Suzuno helped him. I didn't pay much attention after that, didn't care enough._"

"Is that so?" I asked, not really expecting for an answer.

"_Wow, you actually managed to deal damage just now,_" he spoke with obvious sarcasm when I launched a powerful spell on his hero.

"Get used to it from now on," I shot. "Oh, by the way, I went to the game store today. You know, the one where we ran away from the cashieer together?"

"_Mm-hmm. What about it?_"

"Well, I went and bought the first extension pack to RoW," I said, trying my best not to stutter on my next sentence. "I... I bought a copy for you, too. Like you asked."

"_You did? That's awesome!_"

"Yeah... you're welcome, by the way," I joked.

"_Uh... thanks..._" he spoke with a somewhat embarrased tone. It was so different from his usual bored one that it made a blush appear on my cheeks again.

"Umm... I-I'll bring it over to your apartment at some point, okay? I was actually supposed to bring it over today, but I got sidetracked..."

"_That's okay. It's not like I need it until we play RoW again._"

"Yeah... WHERE DID YOU GET _THAT_ CARD?!" I yelled as he placed a card with an awesome battlecry on the field.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**So there it is, extra long just for you! I was originally supposed to upload on Friday, but it was like 3am when I finally had time from my friends and, yeah, I couldn't do it. Then I was supposed to do it on Saturday, but I'm lazy, so here it is! All done and stuff! I feel a little bad since this is the first chapter I haven't posted in time (I've set specific writing times for myself to not slack off), but I'll manage.**

**Wow, this author's note is getting way too long. I'd appreciate reviews, since I work hard! Hope you liked this chapter! Next one will be up likely on Tuesday. Maybe Wednesday.**


	13. Chapter 12 - Friends and foes

**[A/N]**

**I'm back! You... you didn't even notice I was gone? Oh...**

**Well, here I am, and here's your new chapter (finally)!**

* * *

Chapter 12 – Friends and foes

It was a normal Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at my computer and playing RoW with Gina and Urushihara. Ayame was on the other side of the room, studying with Nobuko. They were sitting on opposite ends of her bed with piles of books between them, chatting about something I couldn't understand through my headphones.

"OY! Look out for that monster!" I yelled, fiercely clicking my mouse.

"_Oops, that one almost got me. Thanks,_" Urushihara replied with his usual monotone.

"_Hana-chan! Come back me up, my health is really low!_" Gina yelled and I flinched at the sound against my ears, repositioning my headphones.

"On my way," I replied, heading for her direction.

Our yelling continued like that for a good while before all the monsters were defeated and all the quest items returned. I sat back in my chair, stretching my arms towards the sealing.

"Haah! That really was something," I said.

"_Sure was. Should we take a little pause before the next quest?_" Gina asked, sounding as tired as I was.

"_Um..._"

""_Um?"_"

"What's wrong, Urushihara-kun?" I asked and raised a brow, even though they couldn't see it.

"_My experience points. They're not increasing anymore,_" he simply said. "_It looks like I need the first extension pack to proceed._"

"Oh, that's right! I still have yours..." I thought out loud, looking around the dorm room for a certain plastic bag.

"_Hmm?_" Gina chuckled and my expression turned into a frown. "_You should hurry up and take it to him, Hana-chan~._"

"I know, I know..." I said. "How about I swing by now, Urushihara-kun?"

"_Uh, I guess that's alright,_" he replied.

"Good. Then I'll see you soon. Gina-chan, wait for me, okay?" I said, already moving my mouse on top of the "end call"-button.

"_Mm-hmm. Talk to you later,_" Gina replied, ending the call before I could. It could also have been Urushihara who ended the call, though... Ugh, what am I thinking again? I put down the lid of my computer and took off my headphones, only to catch the last few lines of Ayame and Nobuko's conversation.

"...and we'll study again next week, okay?" Nobuko asked, leaning against the half-opened door. She turned to look at me when she realized I was done with my game. "Oh, see you around, Hana-san. You should study hard, too."

"Yeah, at some point I will... see you around," I replied, lazily waving at the girl dressed in red. She waved back and giggled as she closed the door, disappearing behind it.

"At some point?" Ayame asked with clear disbelief, getting up from her bed and walking over to me.

"I thought I'd read through the books about a week before the exams..." I said, leaning my upper body against the back of my chair.

"I hope that's enough to get you through them, Hana-chan..." she sighed, placing both of her hands on her hips. I got up from my chair with a nonchalant look and walked over to my bed, kneeling next to it to look under it.

"So... what's Nobuko-san up to?" I asked out of politeness, finding the plastic bag containing the games I purchased and pulling it out.

"Hmm? I'm surprised you care." I don't. "She wondered how our room is so clean now..." Ayame said with a smile I couldn't see, but heard it in her voice.

"Is that so?" I yawned, getting up with the bag and turning back towards Ayame.

"Mmh... going over to the demons'?" the blonde asked, changing the subject. She must've noticed my lack of interest.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" I spoke without thinking, then suddenly stopped what I was doing. "Oh." I gave her a cold stare.

"Now you can do what I asked yesterday and get my painting back," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"I already told you yesterday that I won't," I said, finding my bag from next to the door.

"Why not? We now know that Chiho Sasaki knows about Ente Isla, there's no need to keep it there," she replied with an angered hand motion.

"Because it's embarrasing! "Hey, nice to be here... give us back our painting,"" I said, feeling my face getting flushed already.

"Really now, you're so hopeless! All you need to do is explain the situation to them, Hana-chan," Ayame spoke with a disapproving tone. I squeezed my bag against my chest like it was a shield.

"I don't wanna," I replied with a childish voice and turned to look away from her. She gave me an exaggerated sigh.

"I suppose I have no choice but to come with you, then," she said, making her way to her side of the room, grabbing her bag. I blinked in surprise.

"Really?" I asked and put on my sneakers.

"Does it look like I'm joking or something?" she chuckled and opened the closet. "We better take this, it's pouring outside," she said and threw me an umbrella from the closet. I barely caught it.

"I know, I listened to the sound of raining against the windows all morning... I couldn't sleep at all," I sighed and rubbed my eyes to farther make my point. Ayame laughed at that.

"Well, at least you woke up in the _morning_ for once," she joked and put on her shoes.

"It's so funny... can't... stop laughing..." I said in a monotone voice, making a pained expression. I made myself giggle and blushed at that.

"Let's just go," Ayame giggled back and opened the door. I nodded as a reply.

* * *

We walked down the stairs of the dormitory and stood behind it's main door, looking at the rain through it's glass with narrowed eyes. Ayame didn't like the cold and wet, but I'd always found rain very atmospheric.

"Guess we have to go out, huh?" she sighed, opening the door and letting the fresh smell inside the building. She stepped aside, signing for me to get out first. I walked out and opened up the umbrella in my hands, trying not to drop my bags.

"Get under here," I said, making room for Ayame. She stepped under the umbrella and took a hold of it with me. We exchanged smiles before beginning to walk, avoiding the biggest puddles of water.

We didn't get to walk far from the dormitories, when we suddenly heard footsteps and a surprisingly soft scream.

"Waaaaait!" Gina yelled as she appeared from behind us, making us turn around and look at her in confusion. She was wearing red rainboots and a blue rainjacket, leaned against her knees and took deep breaths. "I... made... it... in time..." she said between breaths.

"D-did you run all the way here from your house?!" I yelled, taking a step closer to her and accidentally pulling Ayame with me. Gina raised a finger to sign us to wait.

"I... I did," she replied after catching her breath and regaining her posture. "Oh, it seems my hood's fallen of..." she chuckled, pulling the blue hood over her soaked hair.

"You'll get a cold like that!" Ayame yelled, obviously a little worried. "Are you stupid or what? What in the world made you do this?"

"I'm alright, really," Gina assured, motioning with her hands as a confirmation. "I just, umm..." She looked away, assumingly hiding a blush. I couldn't tell if she was, though, since her face was already red from running. "You don't mind if I come with you to Urushihara-kun's place, do you?" she asked with a wide smile.

"Oh, you just wanna meet Maou-san again, huh?" I bluntly said, all worry disappearing from my expression. She flinched a little.

"Maybe I do. Is there a problem?" Gina asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"No, not at all. You can come with us," Ayame cut in and grabbed her arm. "Let's go." She pulled her into motion and soon we all walked in a row, me and Gina avoiding looking at eachother in the eye.

"You realize Chiho-chan's been crushing on him a lot longer, right?" I mumbled, not sure if I wanted Gina to hear me or not.

"What was that?" she asked without looking at me, arms crossed.

"Nothing~" I chirped as annoyingly as I could. I felt stares coming at me from both my left and right.

* * *

It didn't take us too long to reach Villa Rosa Sasazuka. The look on Gina's face when she saw the building was amusing. I don't know what she was expecting from a MgRonald's employee, but I guessed this wasn't quite it. The expression disappeared from her face soon enough, however, and was replaced by her signeture cheerful smile.

"So~, this is where they live, huh?" she asked, looking past me at Ayame.

"Yeah," the blonde replied with a smile and we headed over to the staircase. "Watch your step," she warned before stepping on the first step.

Before Ayame could proceed any farther, we saw the door open. It startled her and she slipped, falling against me and Gina who barely kept our balance.

"Waah! Watch it, Ayame-chan!" I yelled, pushing her off us.

"S-sorry!" she yelled back, blushing. The sight of her flustered made me snicker.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," came a male voice from the top of the stairs and all of us turned to look at him. "Good to see you, Honda-san... Wakahisa-san," Ashiya spoke. What was that pause? Hmph! I crossed my arms in annoyance.

"No, it's alright," Ayame replied, smiling a bit awkwardly. Ashiya smiled back and opened up an umbrella he was holding. Then he walked down the steps, stopping in front of us. "Good to see you too," Ayame continued. Ashiya gazed over me and Ayame (stopping for a moment to glare at me, _of course_) until finally laying her eyes on Gina.

"Oh, we haven't met, right? I'm Gina Matsuoka," Gina introdused herself and offered her right hand for a handshake.

"Shiro Ashiya," Ashiya replied and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Gina replied with a wide smile. Ashiya turned to look at me and Ayame again.

"So, what brings you here today?" Ashiya casually asked.

"I'm here to retrieve something," Ayame said.

"I came here to bring this game..." I added, lifting up the plastic bag in my hand.

"I just came with them," Gina lied with a straight face.

"Oh," was all Ashiya said at first. "Well, you just missed Kamazuki-san, but Sasaki-san's still there," he added with a smile. "I'm going shopping, but I'll be back in less than an hour to make dinner. You can stay if you please."

He seemed so calm compared to the time he snapped. He was being so polite I had to wonder if it was just a mask he wore. Maybe he was actually really angry, but I couldn't tell. I didn't like the feeling of insecurity.

"We'll see," Ayame replied and waved as the tall demon took his leave. Ayame looked at us before carefully walking up the stairs. We followed her and I closed up the umbrella. We entered the hallway and stopped in front of the door 201, looking at eachother as to decide who knocks. After a short staring contest I stepped forward, took a breath and knocked.

"Come on in," came Maou's muffled up voice from the inside. I grabbed the door handle and entered with the other two girls. "Oh, it's you guys again," Maou said, blinking in confusion. "Well, hi there."

"Senpais! It's nice to see you again," Chiho greeted from the table. She was sitting next to Maou with a confused look. "You visit here often?" she added after a short silence.

"I wouldn't say _that_ often," Ayame replied and took off her shoes. Me and Gina followed her example. I also left the umbrella near the door.

"Hey, did you bring me the game?" came Urushihara's voice from the computer. I turned to look at him. Straight to the point, huh?

"Uh, Gina-chan, Urushihara-kun, you haven't met in real life before..." I said and walked over to Urushihara. Gina followed me there.

"Oh, so you're Matsuoka-san?" Urushihara said with little interest, looking at Gina. Then he turned back to me again. "You have the game with you, right?" Seriously...? I looked at Gina from the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, I have it..." I said, handing him the plastic bag a little reluctantly. He took it and found his copy inside, returning the bag to me.

"Urushihara-san, you're just the worst," Chiho commented from the table.

"You didn't make her buy something for you, did you?" Maou sighed. "I'll pay you back, Wakahisa-san."

"Uh, no need! He didn't make me buy it or anything like that," I chuckled and awkwardly rubbed the back of my head. "I just wanted to do something nice."

"For him?" Chiho asked in disbelief.

"What's with that tone? It wouldn't hurt for you to be a bit nicer to me too, you know," Urushihara replied, annoyment obvious in his tone.

"Not until you start actually doing something helpful around here," Chiho hissed back.

"Really, Wakahisa-san... I'll pay for whatever he made you buy. It's my fault he got to you, since I left you alone with him," Maou said and started searching for his wallet. Urushihara glared at him.

"N-no need! I got it with a really low prize, so I don't mind..." I insisted, a blush creeping up on my face.

"More importantly," Ayame interrupted our chat and walked over to Maou. Thank you, my guardian angel! "I want my painting back," she boldly said and pointed at the single picture on the wall.

"Huh?" Maou raised a brow. "I don't really get it, but take it if you want to. It was yours from the beginning, right?"

"Thank you," Ayame said and bowed, walking over to the painting in order to take it off the wall.

"Uh... Maou-san?" Chiho asked, looking at her coworker.

"What is it, Chii-chan?" he replied with a smile.

"Didn't you... buy that painting from them? Why would you just give it back?" Chiho asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing," Gina spoke. I hadn't noticed until then that she'd stayed silent. Wait. Gina was here. Wait... Gina didn't know about us. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no... Me and Ayame looked at eachother and then at Gina in horror.

"Uh... I didn't-"

"ANYWAY, Gina-chan... you should probably do something about your raincoat, right? It's not polite to wear it inside, right?!" Ayame yelled from behind us. Everyone turned to look at her in confusion.

"Oh, that's right... sorry about that," the blue-haired girl chuckled after a moment of confusion. "I'll take it off," she said and opened up her coat.

"You can hang it in the bathroom to dry, Matsuoka-san," Maou replied with a smile.

"Thanks... and Gina's okay, too," Gina said and tilted her head to side. She took off the coat and went into the bathroom to hang it.

"F-first name basis?!" Chiho suddenly yelled and looked after the girl in the bathroom.

"Chii-chan?" Maou asked and turned to look at the one sitting next to him.

"NOTHING!" she yelled and a blush appeared on her cheeks. Urushihara had completely stopped following the conversation and focused on the extension pack's covers.

"Are you gonna install it now?" I asked and sat beside the fallen angel. He seemed to flinch at my voice, as if he just realized he wasn't alone.

"Yeah, I am," he said and opened up the packaging and putting the disk inside the computer. "I just hope this laptop can take it, since it's really old. It's been acting out for a while now... I'd really like a new one," he sighed. I nodded. I knew how annoying it was when a computer wouldn't work, so I could relate to his problem.

Ayame took her painting from the wall and looked at me like it was time to go.

"Hey, do you wanna stay for dinner?" Maou asked with a warm smile. Ayame stopped in her tracks and set the painting leaning against the wall.

"Well, I guess I don't see why not..." she replied and walked over to the table, then sitting at the end of it. The three around the table exchanged smiles.

"Hey, the guy we spoke to is your third roommate, right? Ashiya-san, I mean," Gina asked as she emerged from the bathroom. She really took her time hanging her coat, didn't she? Wait, did her hair look that good when she entered there?

"Oh, you met him already?" Maou asked with a smile. "Yeah, he is." Gina sat across the table from him and Chiho.

"Some good-looking guys living in here, huh?" Gina giggled and looked at Ayame from the corner of her eye.

"Uhm..." Maou was left speechless for a moment. I felt my cheeks heating up at her comment. Chiho was staring at her blankly. Urushihara didn't seem to care.

"Relax, I'm just joking~," Gina chuckled. Your sense of humor... it scares me. A short but uncomfortable silence followed.

"So, Honda-senpai, Matsuoka-senpai, how are your studies coming along?" Chiho asked, obviously desperately trying to change the subject.

"Well, you know... same old," Ayame said, leaning her chin against her hands.

"Yeah. I've been trying harder at math lately, though..." Gina added, eyeing the sealing for a moment. "Oh, and you don't have to adress us as senpais, eh, Ayame-chan?" Ayame shook her head.

"Ayame-chan is fine with me," she said with a smile.

"You can call me Gina-chan," Gina said and pointed at herself.

"Eh?! Are you sure?" Chiho asked and both girls nodded. "Then you can call me Chiho-chan, too," she said, smiling from ear to ear.

"That's fine with me, Chiho-chan," Ayame chuckled. It didn't take long for Chiho to move her attention from the other two girls to me.

"You don't mind if I start calling you Hana-chan, too?" Chiho asked an tilted her head. Of course I was pulled into this... I didn't like others besides Gina and Ayame using that cutesy honorific on me.

"I suppose I won't," I said with a fake smile.

"Liar," said the monotone voice next to me. He was listening? Besides that, is he smiling?!

"No one asked you, Urushihara-san," Chiho snapped.

"Just pretend I'm air, then," the purple-haired demon replied without moving his eyes from the computer screen.

"That's what I always do," Chiho coldly replied. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Maou, who was just following the conversation with a tired look on his face.

* * *

About two hours passed. At some point Ashiya had returned home and cooked us all dinner. It wasn't anything too fancy, since their money-situation was what it was, but the blond was good at scraping something together from a bunch of nothing.

The conversations were pretty divided. Chiho and Gina were both trying to get Maou's attention, leaving Ashiya and Ayame chatting with eachother for the most part. I of course paid most attention to Urushihara, who didn't seem to mind talking with me.

After the dinner was over Ashiya and Ayame had continued their conversations to the kitchen-area. Ayame was helping the taller blond to wash dishes, which he of course appreciated. Maou, Gina and Chiho were still seated at the table and I was on the computer with Urushihara.

"Has it downloaded yet?" I asked.

"Still at seventy-four percent," he replied and leaned his chin against his hand.

"Wow, this computer really _is_ slow," I complained.

"Yeah, well, what are you gonna do..." he said and opened up a web browser.

"That'll just slow it down more," I teased.

"You obviously don't know a lot about computers," Urushihara laughed. He... laughed. Even though it was a mocking laugh, I couldn't help but blush.

"Well, it's enough for me that I know how to browse the internet and play my games..." I replied, some embarrasment showing in my voice. He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Uh... it's not like there's anything wrong with that..." he half-muttered. Did I... make him flustered? That couldn't be it, could it? It seemed to me like he was taken aback by my honesty. I guess he was waiting for a snappy comeback or something.

"Oy, Hana-chan, Gina-chan," Ayame spoke from the counters. It seemed she and Ashiya were done with the dishes. "We should probably get going now."

"I should head home, too," Chiho added and got up from her seat. Maou and Gina stood up as well.

"You wanna walk with us?" Gina asked with an innocent smile. She really didn't seem to care they were rivals now.

"I'm afraid I'm heading into the opposite direction from you," Chiho simply said and headed over to the door. Ayame and Gina were already heading there, too.

"Are you coming, Hana-chan?" Ayame asked as she put on her shoes. I nodded.

"I guess I'll see you around," I said to Urushihara with a smile.

"Mm-hmm," was his nonchalant reply.

"Love you too," I joked and got up from my spot. Suddenly the demon seemed to completely freeze up. He looked at me with a deep blush before turning back to his computer screen. Wait... which cord did I just pull? What happened? I felt my face heat up at his reaction. "U-um...!"

"Bye," he quickly said, not looking at me again. I backed away from him only to see everyone staring at me. Again.

* * *

We waved our goodbyes to Chiho before she headed for her house and we continued towards the dormitories. Gina walked with us for a good while – not looking at me once – before she left for her own home near the mall. Me and Ayame were almost back home when I decided to speak again.

"Why's that creepy painting that important to you, Ayame-chan?" I asked with a monotone voice. She looked at me from the corner of her eye. Then she looked at the painting she was carrying with her.

"The girl in the painting... is someone important to me," Ayame replied with surprising honesty.

"Your sister?" I blurted out before thinking. Shit.

"How'd you know about her?" Ayame asked, turning to face me as we walked. There was no more need for an umbrella, since the skies had finally cleared while we were at Villa Rosa.

"I just... heard you and Gina-chan talking. I didn't wanna interrupt," I said, continuing my monotone.

"Oh..." she said and walked around a puddle in our way. "Sorry I haven't said anything... she's just something I don't like talking about."

"Oh," I replied. To be honest, I didn't really care about her story. I awknowledged I was just jealous about her newly found relationship with Gina, but of course I couldn't say that to her face. My silence would serve the same purpose.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**So, yeah. This chapter is waaaay late because of a call to heroic duties. And by that I mean hanging out with a couple of my friends in a cottage. Anyway, I'm sorry! *faceplants against ground* Better late than never...?**

**Yesterday (yes, yesterday; I'm sorry) I began watching Fairy Tail. I like it, but I think Lucy is a bit annoying. I mean, she's not the worst or anything, but she's still such a typical anime girl sometimes. Also, *cough* Gray's hot *cough cough.***

**Oh, this author's note is turning into a ramble! I'd appreciate reviews soooo much and like always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	14. Chapter 13 - Forth and back

**[A/N]**

**Sorry I haven't posted in many days... it's because I'm a lazy little shit. :) Don't worry guys, I'll make up for it! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13 – Forth and back

A few days passed by like they normally do – well, mostly normally. Ayame had luckily been taking a little break from her studying and even played and watched anime with me. She also went out a bit more again and gave me more time for myself. I mostly spent that time the same way I always do, watching videos and reading manga... and of course playing with Gina and Urushihara.

Our gaming sessions together seemed to be getting better every time. We'd began throwing idiotic jokes at eachother and gossiping. Imagine, _me_ gossiping! Our teamwork in RoW had also gotten much better and we'd began learning eachother's figting patterns and preferenses in game. Now it was Wednesday afternoon and Gina had left the game early. She said she had plans, but didn't really specify, what. It would've left me wondering if I wasn't distracted by a certain fallen angel's precense.

"That is totally cheating," I complained as he destroyed half of my minions with a spell card, making most damage on my taunts.

"_Nu-uh, you just suck,_" the demon chuckled and took out my hero with a huge blast. A golden "Defeat"-sign popped on my screen and I sighed in annoyment.

"Well... well... so what...?" I muttered and pursed my lips. Urushihara laughed at my reaction even when he couldn't see my lip-pursing. "You're being so mean~" I said as cute as I could.

"_Well, I _am_ a demon, you know,_" he stated and I huffed at that. "_You know... if you wanna learn, I could teach you,_" he said somewhat reluctantly.

"Y-you could?" I asked, my stuttering returning. "Wow, you became way too nice in way too little time. I'm sort of scared," I half-joked and leaned back in my chair with a nonchalant expression.

"_Uh..._" he paused for a while before forming actual words. "_I just thought you might wanna suck less. I mean I can see all of your mistakes even when I can't see your hand._"

"Oh... that bad, huh?" I sighed and he gave me an awkward chuckle. He acted so odd... his sarcasm was toned down to nothingness and his voice was anything but monotone. My heart beat slightly faster than usual. "D-do you think I should come over at your place sometime? You know, so it'd be easier to teach me."

"_You forget something – Maou and Ashiya. You know they're patrolling here and you're on bad terms with the housewife,_" Urushihara spoke, his monotone returning bit by bit. It would've been boring if I didn't enjoy his nonchalant attitude. "_I don't know if you'd like to stay here long enough to properly learn..._"

"I suppose that's true, but..." I stopped, thinking about my response. "I still wanna come over," I boldly said, regretting it at the back of my mind. _What if he says no or goes all weird again? Ugh... Feelings are stupid._

"_Uh... Oh. Umm. Sure... come whenever,_" he replied, now struggling to keep his monotone. _He did go all weird again, didn't he?_

"Yeah..." I said. There was a million things I could've said at that point, but my brain was completely empty. All I could do was stare at the "Defeat"-sign that was still on my screen, since I hadn't clicked it away. We were truly at an awkward pause.

"_So... how's your weekend?_" Urushihara asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"I promised to go out with Chiho-chan on Saturday," I said and leaned against the table, trying to relax my beating heart and cool down my heated cheeks. "But my Sunday should be empty."

"_Sunday, huh...? I think that's Maou's day off... they'll both be here,_" the demon sighed.

"You actually pay attention to those things?" I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"_Things like that can become essential information in the long run, you know,_" he replied with his usual nonchalance, but I guessed there was a smile on his face. "_It's important to know when you can sneak out of the house to a game store sale, for example,_" he spoke with a sneaky tone.

"Sadly you didn't get much out of that trip," I quickly replied and leaned my chin against my hands.

"_It paid off, didn't it? I mean, I have my game now,_" Urushihara laughed. "_Even if I was supposed to buy other ones as well... This'll do._"

"You think you would've gotten them if I wasn't there then?" I asked.

"_It's stupid to think about things like that – we obviously can't know. Idiot,_" Urushihara said. I bet a thousand yen he was rolling his eyes. "_Maybe the cashieer would've recognized me and I wouldn't have gotten away because of the masses of people. Maybe I could've gathered magic from the confusion and knocked that guy out. Who knows._"

"I was just making conversation..." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "And you obviously _have_ been thinking about it."

"_Mm~, maybe,_" he purred._ That tone... what's up with it?!_

"Are you flirting with me?" I blurted out and covered my mouth with one hand as soon as I did. _Why do words just slip out of my mouth around him? What's wrong with me?! Oh... right. Crush. _I was afraid of his reaction, since my comment the other day made him go super-me. Meaning super-awkward.

"_...maybe..._" he carefully said. _Huh...?_ My eyes widened at his surprising words. I wasn't sure if he was kidding or if he was actually getting that comfortable with me. He seemed somewhat socially awkward to me when I spoke to him at demon castle. His body language was just screaming it. Besides, a NEET most likely doesn't come into much contact with people.

"I hope you're kidding..." I mumbled, flushing way too badly. I simply didn't know how else to reply to that. I was so... afraid.

"_Of course I'm kidding,_" he quickly said. I didn't know if I should've been happy or sad. _This guy... He's cute and amusingly nonchalant... so awkward... sarcastic... _"_You wanna play again, or...?_" he soon added. _All those qualities... he sort of reminds me of... me? _"_Uh... Wakahisa-sa-_"

"Hana-chan," I corrected.

"_Huh...?_" Urushihara froze.

"Call me Hana-chan, idiot," I giggled. "Wakahisa-san is a mouthful, don't you think?"

"_Well... not really when compared to Urushihara,_" he replied with a sigh. "_I really don't like the names here..._" he complained.

"I would call you Lucifer if I could," I chuckled. "Hell, I'd even go as far as calling you Lucy," I said with a sneaky tone and raised an eyebrow.

"_Please don't,_" the demon replied with great discomfort showing in his voice. "_But I suppose you could call me Hanzo... I mean, it's all the same to me._"

"Hanzo-kun?"

"_You don't need the honorific..._" the demon said.

"Oh? We're dropping those, too?" I smirked.

"_Tsk._ _We didn't use them in our world, don't see the need to use 'em here,_" Urushihara said with obvious annoyance.

"You know you sound like a rambling old man, right?" I laughed.

"_Well... by human standards I probably _am_ a rambling old man,_" he said with his usual monotone. I laughed some more at that.

"You're too cute to be an old man," I said. And covered my mouth immediately after. The blush on my face was unavoidable. _I fucking hate myself._

"_Uh..._" Urushihara went quiet after that.

"I-I'm kidding! I mean... U-um..." I stuttered. "You- you're cute but- AGH! I mean I just, yeah. Sooo... Uh. I-I'll shut up... now..." It was quiet for a couple more seconds. Then, all of a sudden, Urushihara burst out into laughter.

"You still can't complete a sentence, can you?" he said between laughs. For a reason or another, that line got me - maybe it was because it was hilariously true. I joined in on his laughter, and we laughed together for more minutes than the sanity defined by humans would've allowed.

* * *

I had just ended my Call with _Urushi-... Luci-... _Uh,_ Hanzo_, when the door opened and Ayame dragged herself in. There was a soft smile on my face when I turned around in my chair and leaned my chest and arms against it's back.

"You're home," I stated at the blonde.

"Well noticed," she replied and yawned. When I said she dragged herself in, I meant it. She looked totally beat.

"Did you wrestle a bear or something?" I asked, looking up and down her exhausted form.

"I might as well have been, but no. I was out and I happened to meet up with Etsuko-san... she and some other students from Sasahaki North were going to play baseball and I ended up going with them," she said and threw her bag next to the closet, strething her arms and back.

"Wearing that?" I chuckled and pointed at her outfit. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a black sweater and an orange scarf around her neck. "I'm surprised you didn't die of heatstroke."

"Well, you're not the only one," she said and removed her shoes, making her way to my side of the room and collapsing on my bed.

"Oy! Sleep on your own bed, asshat," I complained.

"But your mattress is so much softer..." she mumbled into my pillow as she made herself comfortable.

"They're the same mattress," I muttered with annoyment and turned to face my laptop again. I went through some new updated videos, finding myself something suitable to watch. Once I did find a proper video, however, Ayame decided to interrupt me.

"We should talk," she said, still obviously tired.

"We're talking right now," I said. "What's up?"

"No, I mean... about important stuff," she yawned and got up to a sitting position. I turned to face her and raised a brow.

"Like... what?" I asked suspiciosly.

"Like, what are we gonna do after school. Where are we gonna live, work and all that," she explained and leaned against the wall.

"Uhm... yeah, I guess that's a timely topic," I replied. "To be honest, I have been thinking about it a little, but... nothing too specific yet." Ayame sighed.

"I assumed so," she said and nodded. "I've been thinking about multiple solutions for us. The first thing we need to do is get new jobs - and hold them this time..." I nodded in agreement. "The last times we failed to understand how the human world works and caused trouble, but now that we've been living here a lot longer... we should be able to do it."

"Yeah, true... I remember the one time I accidentally set a copier on fire. It was when we were working at that new craft shop, right?" I giggled.

"I was just surprised you were able to even cause a fire without magic," Ayame shot with a smile. I huffed as a response. "Anyway... we should start looking for work as soon as possible. Also, we should find an apartment to rent."

"So, you're still willingly going to live with me?" I chuckled, but actually meant what I said.

"Yes, I am. I just think we have better chances of survival together," she hummed. I couldn't help but feel a little warm inside.

"Should we divide our jobs at looking, or...?" I asked.

"I think we should. I can go around searching for places to work and you can work on the apartment problem," Ayame said.

"Well, there's one place that comes to mind immediately... You can't say you haven't thought about it, too," I said, obviously reffering to Villa Rosa. Ayame paused for a moment.

"Yeah, I have thought about it, but I think it should be a last resort. I mean, it's cheap and we'd have people from our world near us incase something happened, but..." Ayame sighed.

"I know what you mean," I replied, lifting both of my legs on the chair and hugging them. The was a short silence with the both of us thinking.

It was ridiculous. We had once been angels, heroes and demons, but now that we were reduced to mere humans, citizens of Japan... Everything was so out of place but yet so simple at the same time. We didn't have hate towards the demons like Yusa and Kamazuki – maybe that was because we didn't have direct relations towards them (well, except for Hanzo, but that was debatable).

I'd never really thought about demons before I met those three. To me they were simply something hated on because of the angels' (and humans') history with them. I didn't want to pay too much attention to it, since it didn't directly affect me. Well, until the war it didn't. Maybe that's why I was oddly willing to spend time with them. Maybe I just wasn't afraid because I hadn't seen their powers in use.

I didn't know if it was the same for Ayame. I didn't know much about her past, I only knew her as the leader of my training group. We hadn't spoken about our pasts either since we arrived to Tokyo. We didn't even mention our home before Ayame broke our silence of it by bringing up my "oddness." _What about me is different, anyway? She couldn't clearly point it out,_ I remembered. Maybe I didn't need to know, maybe it was just her misunderstanding. It's not like we spoke that much in Heaven.

There was one thing I could come to think of to hate on the demons. My friends. They were sent to the war, weren't they? I wonder if they ever got to it. I wonder if they fought well, I wonder if they survi-

I shook the thought out of my head and hugged my legs a little tighter against myself. Ayame probably noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere around me, since she started talking again.

"Hey, it's not like we need to panic... We'll figure something out," she said. "Besides... Villa Rosa isn't a terrible option. We could maybe help Yusa-san and Kamazuki-san to keep an eye on the demons, hmm?" she smiled. "I know they've been working hard even under these odd circumstances."

"How do you know?" I asked and raised a brow at her.

"I forgot to tell you," Ayame realized, her eyes widening a bit. "Before I went out playing baseball, I met up with Yusa-san."

"You did?" I asked, now both of my brows raised.

"Yeah. She asked me out for coffee the other day, so I went," Ayame got up from the bed.

"So it seems... how come I wasn't invited?" I huffed. Ayame looked at me a bit apologetic. _What?_

"Umm, to be completely honest... she said she didn't trust you," she said.

"Why not?" I sighed like it wasn't obvious already.

"Well, first off, I was your superior," she began and made her way to her bag. "Second of all, you seem to favour Lucifer," she said and kneeled down to dig the inside of the bag. "And third, you steal." I giggled at the explanation.

"That all?" I asked with amusement. "In my opinion she could've asked me for coffee."

"It's not all..." she said, taking a box of some sort out of her bag. I studied it with care. "She... she said she thinks there's something off with you." I blinked. "She wasn't sure if she could trust you with this," Ayame said and placed the suspicious, smallish box on my studying table. I moved my computer out of the way. I looked at her with great curiosity and she nodded to me, giving me permission to open up the box. I grabbed it lids and opened it without ripping it too much.

""Holy Vitamin Beta?"" I read from the side of a brown bottle. The box was full of them, containing maybe fifteen in total. "What are these?" I looked at the blonde.

"It's something to replenish our celestial power," Ayame sighed. My eyes widened as I took another look at the bottle. "Yusa-san asked us to aid her, since she doesn't have too many allies around."

"What?! Seriously?" I asked and got up from my seat. Things were moving too fast for me. Ayame simply nodded.

"I was reluctant to take them at first because of our new lives here. I didn't want to risk it," she said. "But I guess you can't run from your past forever." She gave a wistful laugh.

"B-but... seriously? She asked us? Could we even do much to help her?" I spoke, confusion apparent in my voice. "And how come she trusted this stuff near me if she doesn't trust me?"

"I spoke on your behalf, obviously. I told her you haven't been yourself in a long time and she gave me the opportunity to decide for myself. I decided to trust you, so... don't betray my trust, okay?" Ayame said. She sounded so worried. _Is something really that off with me? _I gave her a simple nod and she smiled. "Now, I told her we couldn't go against Lucifer, but we would certainly help her if she ever called us."

"Huh..." I turned to stare at the box of bottles again. "So, now we have a side in the war..." I muttered, but Ayame seemed to have heard me clear enough.

"We've always had a side in the war," she said threateningly. "We've just failed to fulfill it." We stood there in silence as I gave a reluctant nod without looking at her. She gave a relieved sigh. "Well, now that that's over with... she said you can take a bottle twice a day, but you shouldn't replace a missed dose with two."

"What sort of gap should there be between bottles?" I lazily asked.

"About eight hours or so," Ayame said and sat on the side of my bed. "If we drink them regularly, we should be able to reach our full magic power at some point. It'll wither away like it usually does, however, so we should use those sparingly."

"Got it," I said and nodded at her.

"Hey," Amaya called at me and I flinched. "You... probably shouldn't get too attached," she said in a by-the-wayish manner. I nodded again, avoiding any words from slipping from my mouth. "Well, good night!" she suddenly chirped and took a comfortable position on my bed.

"HEY! GET OFF THERE!"

* * *

**[A/N]**

**I know, it's heading into a slightly clichéd direction... I'll handle it, don't you even worry about it! XD**

**Anyways, I said I'd make up for the lost time and here's how I'll do it: I have all next three chapters planned out and I'll continue writing them the whole weekend (with pauses, of course) and I'll post them as soon as they're ready! So, keep your eyes open! :)**

**Oh, and we broke 1000 views in total, so thank you so much for that! We also broke 100 pages of text on my openoffice, so yay~! Party time!**

**Like always, I hope you liked this chapter and reviews would be *adored*, *loved* and *cherished.* I'll also love anyone who follows/favorites!**


	15. Chapter 14 - Old locks given in

**[A/N]**

**Here's the next chapter, as promised! I'm actually pretty glad with how this one turned out, so I hope you guys enjoy it! ^^**

* * *

Chapter 14 – Old locks given in

I was indeed surprised when Chiho called me the other day. I hadn't expected her to even know my number, but I suppose she could've found it out from someone. When I picked up the phone, she spoke as cheerily as ever and asked me to hang out with her this Saturday. Of course I couldn't refuse, since she asked like that. Besides, I wanted to be on good terms with her – she was friends with the demons, after all. I wanted to find a peaceful spot between all the oddity and that meant to not piss anyone else off.

I stood beside the front wall of the coffee shop we'd agreed to meet at and played with my phone. I only raised my eyes from the screen to look at the people passing by if I thought I saw someone resembling Chiho. She was running a bit late, but I didn't want to get all worried yet. I didn't know her that well, maybe it was common for her.

I ran and jumped in the game, turning left, right, right, left... then jumped again, trying my best to outrun the monster chasing after my character. My brain was starting to space out as my muscles took over the game for me. I was completely focused on getting through the level. Right, right, right, right, jump, left...

Suddenly a text appeared on the screen: "Level 34 cleared." A smile spread across my face._ I did it! _I thought as I clicked "continue to next level."

"Hello!" Chiho yelled as she suddenly appeared next to me, making me jump back in surprise. That wasn't all, I was so surprised I ended up taking my battle stance. She looked at me with wide eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you...!" she said. "...too badly anyway," she muttered.

A weak blow of the wind played with Chiho's short, orange hair. She was wearing a dark denim skirt with a yellow top and a brown leather jacket. A small bag of a slightly lighter brown than her jacket was hanging from her shoulder. The outfit suited her curves, facial features and eye-colour perfectly and I couldn't help but admire it. I was wearing my black skirt and a dark grey hoodie with my hair tied on a high ponytail (I finally went out and bought some new pompoms) and my black bow tie tied on the right side of my head. I had my usual, large black bag hanging from my shoulder. I looked so casual compared to her, but I couldn't help it. The sky had been filled with grey clouds the whole day and I thought I should wear a hoodie just to be safe.

"I-it's fine," I said and corrected my position. I noticed I'd been squeezing my phone tightly in my grasp and looked at the screen. The text "Try again?" stood mockingly in front of me. I slammed the phone shut and sighed. "Hi, Chiho-chan," I said with a smile.

"Sorry I'm late... It's just that I... sort of made a mess at work and had to stay overtime to clean it up," she said, a pink blush taking over her face.

"Oh, so you're here straight from work?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm. My route home goes through here, so I often stop for coffee at this place," she said as she pointed at the very ordinary-looking coffee shop. "Wanna go in?" she suggested with a smile.

"That's why I'm here, right?" I replied and we entered the shop. There were only few tables and almost all of them were filled. She led me to the third table from the door and we sat down. A waitress walked up to us with a wide, practised smile.

"Hello and welcome again, Sasaki-san. The usual for you, hmm?" she asked, leaning slightly closer to us and letting her brown curls slide over her shoulders. _Shouldn't you tie your hair up at a job like this? The manager must have a crush on her or something._

"Yes, please," Chiho replied and corrected the position of her top. "It's nice to see Nakano-san again."

"Likewise," the brunette said and then turned to me. "And what would you like, miss?"

"Uh, you sell iced coffee, right?" I asked, avoiding eye-contact with the unknown lady.

"We do. I'll be right back with your orders," she said and went behind the counter.

"You don't have to be afraid of Nakano-san, she's really a nice woman," Chiho said, apparently having noticed my anxiousness.

"N-no, it's not her. I'm just not that good with strangers," I admitted with a slight blush.

"Oh, so you're like Urushihara-san, then?" Chiho giggled. "I suppose I could see you two together..."

"Uh, um... so, how's it going?" I asked, avoiding the topic completely. Chiho sighed before giving her answer.

"I'd like to say everything's just fine, but..." she drifted off for a while. I guessed Gina's affections towards Maou were really bothering her. "I actually called you because I wanted to talk to you about Gina-chan."

"Oh, so you're worried that-"

"Here are your orders! A cappuccino for Sasaki-san and an iced coffee for you," the brunette woman spoke as she placed the mugs in front of us. I hadn't even noticed her before she started talking.

"Thank you very much," Chiho said.

"Thank you," I added, staring down at my coffee.

"Call me if you need anything else," the woman spoke with a smile before disappearing to her duties again. I took a taste of my coffee before turning my attention back to Chiho (it was delicious by the way.)

"Um... so like I was saying, you're worried that Gina-chan might come between you and Maou-san?" I asked. I wanted to get to the root of the problem and then quietly leave the situation. She gave me a small nod without making eye-contact.

"But that's not all anymore. Last Wednesdey she appeared at my house," Chiho began. I raised my eyebrows in confusion. "She'd apparently gotten my address from one of my classmates. She said she had something important to talk to me about, so I invited her in. Like I expected, it was about Maou-san..." she said, sounding less and less willing to continue every sentence. "She said that she wants to be friends with me... but she'll still go after Maou-san."

"R-really...?" was all I could manage to say at first. "She really came over to your house to tell you that?" Chiho nodded.

"She told me how boys are always after her, asking for her to date them or just trying to please her. She said it annoyed her so much. After flirting with Maou-san at MgRonald's she said that she was very intrigued by the fact that her charm didn't seem to be working on him," Chiho explained. "She said he's the first guy she's been crushing on in a long time." The girl was squeezing her hands into tight fists.

"Damn," I said and took another sip of my coffee. "I noticed Gina getting a bit more... um, passionate about Maou-san, but I didn't expect her to go out of her way to do something like that," I said. "I mean, this is all new for me too."

"I really wanted to talk to one of her friends about this, since the situation is getting out of my hands. I mean, what can a normal girl like me do against a popular member of the student council?" Chiho whined and leaned herself against the table in defeat. "What if Maou-san actually falls for her?!" she yelled in despair and a small part of me found the current situation amusing. Love does weird things to people.

"C-calm down now, Chiho-chan..." I said and patted her head. "It'll be alright." She sighed and got up from the table. "Anyway... why didn't you call Amaya-chan instead of me? You've probably already noticed I'm not that good with situations involving... you know, _people_." That made Chiho giggle.

"Yeah, I got that sort of feeling from you," she said and I blinked a couple of times. "It's just that Ayame-chan doesn't seem to have feelings for anyone right now. I feel like I can relate to you better, since you seem to have taken an interest on Urushihara-san." I blushed.

"W-well..." I tried avoiding the topic again and took a sip of my coffee.

"Or am I wrong?" Chiho asked, clearly expecting for me to say no. I hesitated for a moment before carefully shaking my head, face partly hidden behind the coffee mug. "That's what I thought," she grinned. "So, do you think you'll be able to help me?" she asked and finally took a sip of her own coffee.

"I could try and talk to Gina-chan," I said and set my mug back on the table. "But I can't quarantee any results. She might not listen."

"I get that... but I appreciate you even trying for me," Chiho said with the warmest smile I've probably ever seen. If only she'd known I wasn't really doing it for her sake I might never have seen that expression. "Hana-chan...? Why are you blushing?" I placed a hand against my cheek, only now noticing the heat on them. _Damn._

"I-I just..." my eyes drifted to the floor. "So, Chiho-chan... you mind me asking if you've ever had another crush besides Maou-san?" I changed the topic.

"Maou-san is not a simple crush," Chiho said with clear seriousness. "He's... he's my first love," she said with sparkling eyes. The stare of her brown eyes left me speechless. "I'm not gonna give him up without a fight." _I can't believe you were in deep despair just moments ago._

"Is that so?" I asked with an amused smirk. She didn't seem to register my intentions completely, to my fortune.

"Hmm... what about you, Hana-chan? Did you crush on anyone back in your world?" she asked with a sneaky tone. "There must've been someone special to you." I flinched at that.

"W-well, obviously there were some guys... and it obviously didn't work out well with any of them," I spoke a little embarrased. I didn't like talking about my personal life and my past even less.

"Hmm? Guys? In plural? So you attracted them like Gina-chan, then?" she evilly chuckled. _How can a girl that cute transform into something that mean in such a short time?!_

"I-It's just that after living enough years you're bound to having had some kind of relationships...!" I practically yelled, trying to keep myself from blushing too much. Chiho raised a brow.

"How old are you, then? You seem like a normal teen to me," she asked with her head tilted to the side.

"I'm not telling you~" I said and crossed my arms in annoyment.

"How boring," Chiho complained. "But you're not eighteen? Huh."

"What do you mean "huh?"" I asked.

"It's just, I guessed that as angels and demons you wouldn't live the same lifespan as humans, but it's somehow hard to believe without actually knowing it..." Chiho said and leaned back in her seat with a focused expression. She was thinking, I realized.

"I bet it is," I hummed as a response and smiled at the redhead.

"Hey, would it be completely out of the question for you to tell me about your world? About Heaven? About, I don't know, your life there?" Chiho asked and leaned her elbows on the table. "I've been really curious for a while now, but Maou-san and the rest don't seem that willing to tell me anything." For some reason, there was a troubled look on Chiho's face. It didn't seem like it was only because of the fact that they weren't telling her anything, no. I don't know why, but I felt like it was something completely else.

"They probably just don't want you to get too involved so you don't get hurt," I assured.

"Mm-hmm, you're probably right," she replied with a wistful smile and took a sip of her coffee. I smiled at her.

"So, what would you like to hear?" I asked. It was true that I didn't like the topic, but somehow I felt like telling her about my past. Maybe it was just to get something off my chest, too. Her eyes seemed to light up.

"Well, for starters... umm... well, what's Heaven like?" she asked and leaned her chin against her hands.

"What's it like? Hmm..." I tilted my head to the side, thinking about my answer.

"I mean, is it all white and cloudy like on TV?" Chiho giggled.

"No," I giggled back. "It's not at all like that... well, it's sort of like that. It's... it's very beautiful, for starters. It's always summer, the sky is bright, the rain is soft and the wind is never too harsh. The flying weather's almost always perfect," I explained. "The buildings look like something out of your fantasy movies; white marble and crystal buildings reaching high up to the sky. The ground is covered in plants and flowers," I continued. "But even though the flowers and plants are beautiful, many of them are poisonous for humans. You guys couldn't eat almost any of them."

"So angels eat? I've heard demons don't have to," Chiho asked.

"Well, we don't really need to eat, but we can. Some of the plants there actually contain substances that can replenish or strenghten our magical powers," I explained. "Those plants are harvested in many places. I even had my own herb garden back at my house," I said with a smile. My smile disappeared when I remembered my friend ripping apart my yard. I shook my head to shake the memory for now.

"Wow, Heaven sounds like a cool place," the redhead said, her expression unchanging. "What about the rest of your world? Ente Isla?"

"I've never actually left Heaven, so I can't tell you much... only what I've learned from other angels," I chuckled. "I didn't welcome new places or people even back then."

"Oh," Chiho said, sounding a little disappointed. She took another sip of her coffee and I followed her example.

"You probably would have wanted to know about Maou-san's home, right?"

"Mmh, it would've been interesting to know what his life was like before," Chiho said, looking at the coffee mug in her hands. She had the same troubled expression from earlier.

"You don't seem like you want to know that bad," I thought out loud. Chiho turned to look at me and placed her mug on the table.

"You noticed..." she chuckled. "I guess there's no hiding it: I'm a little afraid."

"Afraid to know about Maou's past? Are you afraid you'd think differently about him...?" I asked, sort of drifting off at the end. It was only a guess, after all.

"N-no, it's not that! Whatever he did... it's in the past. It's just..." Chiho avoided eye-contact. "I don't want it to feel real. I don't want to bring too much life to your world, you know?" she spoke. "I don't want it to become a possibility that... he..." Chiho stopped talking completely.

"That he'd leave," I finished her sentence with a half-mutter and she nodded. I gave her a smile. "Come on, now. It doesn't seem like he's leaving anytime soon. I mean, he told us he has the means of gathering magic, but he hasn't taken on the task and decided to take off. There's obviously something keeping him here," I assured the other girl.

"I suppose you're right... I just..." Chiho ran her fingers on the top of her mug. "I don't want him to go." I sighed and drank the rest of my coffee. A silence followed as we stared down at our mugs in thought.

_Damn. This stupid situation is causing too much hassle. What the hell am I supposed to do with all this drama? Fucking fuck fucking a fucking duck. Fuck. This is why I don't socialize!_

"So, you'll be a senior next year, huh?" I asked with a smile, making an attempt at lightening up the atmosphere.

"Oh, that's right. And you'll be out of high school," Chiho joined in on my smiling. "Are you still avoiding any and all studying, Hana-chan?"

"Well, a little..." I admitted.

"You should pick up on your behaviour, there's only two weeks before the finals, right? You don't even have anymore school after next week, right?" Chiho pointed out.

"You're right, I don't! How come I hadn't even thought about it?" I sang.

"Hmm, maybe you're a little sad leaving school? It's only natural," she suggested.

"You're mistaken, I'm glad to get out of that hellhole," I huffed and crossed my arms. "No more math, no more English, no more scary teachers!"

"You're totally lying," Chiho said and pointed at me, holding in her laughter.

"Hmph," I said and my posture slumped a bit. Chiho dug out her phone from her small bag and opened it up.

"I have a little more time before I have to go home to dinner," she said and put back her phone. "I should probably ask something interesting before that..." she said, her eyes drifting away in thought. "Oh, I got curious when you said you never left Heaven. You can come and go from there, so is it just like a place you can go to? Like a country or something like that?"

"No, it's not like that," I told. "It's a world God has made especially for angels, His closest servants. The best way to describe it is as it's on dimension. Pure angels have the power to leave or enter it willingly, but if you're fallen, like Lucifer, you lose that power."

"So... God really exists, then?" Chiho asked. I eyed the table.

"Well... it's debatable, really. But quite obviously there is some sort of power higher than ourselves," I explained. "There's something that rules over that dimension, something that speaks to us and guards us. Some say the weather there represents His feelings, and it's hard for me to deny the possibility. The weather used to always be perfect before... before the war. After that it was always raining and storming, like God was crying."

"Are angels, humans and demons created by God, like we're taught at religious education?" Chiho asked and leaned her chin against her hands again.

"I don't know about demons' or humans' origins, but yes, angels are created by God," I said. "We're born from a blast of celestial light in the form of a young adult human with nothing but our name in mind. From personal experience, it's like someone's whispering it in your ear as you wake up from a long dream..." I stopped talking when I realized how personal my rant had suddenly gotten. "Oh, I'm sorry! I don't know if you really wanted to know all that..." I said and waved my hands in front of me apologetically. A blush was apparent on my cheeks.

"No, it's actually really interesting... everything in your world sounds so amazing," Chiho admired.

"It does? Hmm... I think your world is much more interesting than ours. Everything must be solved without magic. You've created so many things with only your minds as help, it's amazing!" I exclaimed and sat back in my spot. Chiho gave out a chuckle.

"I guess we're all attracted by the things we haven't experienced before."

"I guess you're right," I agreed with a soft smile. Chiho really was a pleasant person when we talked like this.

* * *

We stepped out of the coffee shop with smiles on our faces and stopped in front of it before leaving. Chiho had insisted on paying our drinks, since she called me here, which I was grateful of. I felt like I was getting softer every minute I spent with her, but surprisingly, I was alright with it.

"Thanks for all this," Chiho said, blushing a bit.

"No, it was actually pretty fun chatting with you," I truthfully said and tilted my head. "You seem like a smart person."

"Eh, come on now! You're embarrasing me..." Chiho exclaimed.

"Sorry," I chuckled. "So, I'll see you around?"

"And I you," she replied. "Bye!" she said, waving as she headed over the street. I waved back and headed in my own direction, towards the dormitories.

I stuck my hands into my hoodie's pockets. It was a lot chillier than when I arrived and the wind was getting stronger, too. It played with my ponytail and clothes like they were it's favourite toys. I mostly kept my eyes on the street so the wind wouldn't get to them, too. The most pressing thought in my mind was how the hell I would get Gina to cooperate with me.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Building up relationships is fuunn... *sings by herself* Ahem, anyway, did you guys enjoy the chapter? Hope you did. :3 The next two will be posted up today or Sunday. We'll have to see, I suppose - but I am in the mood for writing right now. **

**I probably have to force myself to keep breaks, because it takes me at least four hours straight if I start writing a chapter without interruptions. I need to eat and sleep and all that other human stuff!**

**Anyway, please favorite, follow and review! I would love you for it! Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


	16. Chapter 15 - Color spectrum of emotion

**[A/N]**

**Here's your new chapter. :3 I had a little trouble with the last part, but it's tolerable.**

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Chapter 15 – Color spectrum of emotion

As soon as I woke up I just knew I'd slept in. After doing so for so many years you started to pick up on the feeling of it – hell, even after weeks of doing so you started to notice the difference. The sun was shining unpleasantly on my face between the closed curtains. I reluctantly opened my eyes and covered the lightsource with my hand.

I laid on my bed a few more minutes before getting up into a sitting position, yawning and stretching. I looked for my phone from the sheets and found it from somewhere near my feet. I checked the time. 13:43. _Huh, I guess I didn't sleep that long after all._ I closed the lid of the flip phone and got up from the bed, oversized t-shirt hanging down to my thighs.

I made my way to the small fridge and placed my phone on top of it. I opened it up and looked at it's insides. A few yogurts, butter, microwave pizzas and a few cans of tuna. _Not really anything I'd like to eat right now..._I took a can of yogurt and made my way to my studying table.

Before I could even look for a spoon I noticed a pink post-it note plastered on my computer. I took it with my free hand and read it. "I'm over at Nobuko-san's, studying." It was written in Ayame's handwriting and there was a little drawing of an eye at the bottom. It was definitely left there by her. I hadn't even noticed she was gone until just now.

I glued the note on my table, since the walk over to the trash can seemed to be too much trouble and sat down on my computer chair. I put the can of yogurt on the table and hovered my hand over the drawers before picking one to open it up. _The third one_, I remembered and pulled it open to find myself a plastic spoon.

I opened the lid of my laptop and flinched at it's bright light. I wrote in the password and immediately went to check my video subscribtions, new episodes on animes and any possible events on RoW and Hearthrock. I opened up the tin lid of the yogurt and stuck my spoon in it, starting to shovel the substance in my mouth.

I went through my usual morning routine until I realised something. It was an accident, really. I was just checking time from the bottom corner of my screen and happened to see the date. It looked suspicious to me, so I checked which weekday it was. Sunday. My eyes widened in surprise. How could I have forgotten?

I went to grab my phone from the fridge and opened it's lid. I went to the contacts and found Hanzo's number, pressing the "call"-button without even thinking about it. I hoped he had slept in too, since he hadn't messaged me yet.

"Yo, Hanzo," I gave a light chuckle at the new name.

"_You sound tired,_" he responded and after that I heard a yawn.

"So do you," I pointed out. "Did you just wake up?"

"_I did. Why?_" he asked. "_Oh, wait... you're coming here today, right?_" he suddenly realized, his tone sounding a little less tired.

"Mm-hmm," I said and yawned. I must've caught that yawn from him. "When can I come over?" I asked and made my way to my chair.

"_Whenever you want to,_" he plainly said.

"Great... I'll be there in an hour, okay?" I said and muffled my long hair around my hand. _Lucky I took a shower yesterday night, so there's no need for one now. _

"See you then," he replied and ended the call before I could reply. I looked at the screen with tired eyes before turning back towards my computer. After checking through all the tabs I closed them and shut the lid of my computer. I got up and walked over to the closet with sloppy steps and opened it up to search it's insides.

I had to kneel to reach the bottom shelves without too much discomfort and reached for the light green computer bag on my side. I pulled it out of the closet and as soon as I was about to close the closet door, I noticed something. I froze in place for a moment, staring at the box of Holy Vitamin Beta on Ayame's side, carelessly hidden under an old hoodie. _Should I...?_

I reached my hand slowly towards a bottle only to leave it hovering over it. I pulled my hand slightly back, folding my fingers closer to my palm. I stayed in that position for quite a while before gathering my courage and grabbing one of the bottles.

* * *

I left the dorm room, now fully dressed and otherwise cleaned up. My long, curly, white and green hair was left open with the little, black bow tied on the right side. I wore a black, slightly see-through collar shirt with a black top underneeth it, a yellowish green high-waisted skirt with little red flower patterns and a completely unmatching grey hoodie. My sneakers didn't fit into the outfit either, since their coloring consisted of black and purple. On my left shoulder hung both my computer bag and my regular bag, pressing uncomfortably against it.

I walked through the hallway towards the staircase, holding back another yawn. My eyes wondered on the walls and dooes of the hallway, suddenly stopping on a familiar number and freezing me where I stood. I blinked a couple of times before walking over to Nobuko's door. _I might as well tell Ayame-chan where I'm going while I'm here._ I knocked on the door and waited for a response.

I heard footsteps close in and then a short, brown-haired girl opened the door, wide smile on her face. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and light blue denim shorts.

"Hello, Hana-san~! Fancy seeing you here. Came to study?" Nobuko cheerily spoke as she headed inside the room, leaving the door open for me. I stepped inside and looked around in the neatly decorated room. Ayame was sitting on the bed in the right side of the room. It looked similar to ours with two beds, tables and a large bookcase in the middle, but the blue walls weren't completely covered in posters and drawings.

"Hi, Wakahisa-san," a pretty black-haired and brown-eyed girl on the floor greeted with a smile. She had a pile of books and notebooks in front of her, like the other two girls.

"Hey," I greeted, turning my attention immediately to Ayame. I didn't really care about dealing with Nobuko's roommate. "Ayame-chan, just wanted to let you know I'm going over to Hanzo's."

""Hanzo's?"" she chuckled and I looked away from her. "You could've texted me, honey."

"I know, but I was passing by, so I thought I'd say hi..." I said and raised my hand up to wave at the girls.

"You can come study with us when you get back, Hana-san," Nobuko suggested and sat back in her spot at the studying desk.

"I'll think about it," I smirked in disbelief. I was just about to leave the room when Ayame spoke again:

"Oh, and Hana-chan?"

"What is it?" I asked with an annoyed look.

"Your hoodie doesn't match."

* * *

I walked through the streets with a hand around my mid-section. I was holding the hoodie around my body without actually zipping it up, since it seemed like too much effort. The wind was stronger than the day before, but at least it wasn't cloudy. The sun was shining pleasantly against my bare skin as I headed towards Villa Rosa Sasazuka.

I was quite enjoying the so far peaceful day when I heard my phone go off. I dug it out the black bag with slight effort, cursing under my breath. After managing to grab onto the device, I opened it up to check my text messages.

_**Hanzo Urushihara**_

**Can you go by the store?**

I raised my brows at the message before replying to it.

_**You**_

**Why? And do you have to text? I hate typing on my phone.**

_**Hanzo Urushihara**_

**If I call, they'll notice. I want you to grab us something to eat.**

_**You**_

**Why can't they notice? "Us" as in...?**

_**Hanzo Urushihara**_

**You and me. Maou and Ashiya are going out to eat and I already know they're gonna come back with only a pork bowl.**

_**You**_

**Oh? I still don't get why they can't notice.**

_**Hanzo Urushihara**_

**They won't let me ask you for food if they do.**

I sighed at the messages, taking a turn towards the nearest convenience store as I walked.

_**You**_

**Fine, I'll bring you your stupid food.**

* * *

"Come on in," Maou said as he opened me the door.

I took off my shoes and took a look around the room 201. Everything looked as normal as it could be, but for some reason there was something uncomfortable in the atmosphere. I headed over to Hanzo and placed down my bags next to the computer table.

"Hey," I greeted and waved at the demon. He turned to look at me from his screen.

"Hey..." he replied, for some reason his eyes staying on me a little longer than usual. I raised a brow at his reaction and subtly turned my head away to look at the other two demons.

"It's really becoming a habit for you to come over," Maou said as he wandered around the room somewhat aimlessly, looking at his phone.

"I guess it has..." I agreed, looking over at Ashiya, who was placing dryed clothes into their closet. "How come everyone's so quiet?" I asked. The atmosphere was really starting to bug me.

"No reason," Maou replied and put away his phone. His MgRonald's smile took over his previosly neutral expression as he grabbed a magazine from the table and sat down to read it. "Ashiya, are you ready yet?" he pointed his question to the blond.

"Just a moment, sire," Ashiya replied as he continued his task.

"Just pretend those two are air," Hanzo said with narrowed eyes. I gave an awkward chuckle before sitting down at the table.

"You're gonna have to make room for me, you know," I said, looking at the table. His laptop wasn't the only thing taking the space, there were also empty bags of chips and candy, white speakers and a maybe console of some sort. Probably bought without Maou's permission, as usual. I couldn't fit my own laptop on the table with all the junk he'd gathered.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do that. Just give me a second," Hanzo said as he began moving his equipment out the way. I thought I might as well help, so I grabbed one of the speakers to move out of the way. As I was moving the thing, I noticed a strange cord tangled to it. It came from the laptop, but it wasn't the power cord. I followed it with my eyes from the table to the window.

I set down the speaker to get up from my spot and head over to the window, seeing Hanzo looking at me from the corner of my eye. I moved the drapes slightly out of the way to see where the cord connected. It was a web camera pointing outside.

"What's this?" I asked, pointing at the device.

"Oh, that – it's a security camera," he said and went back to clearing the table. "I installed it to keep an eye on the street."

"Why the hell would you do that?" I asked and looked outside the window.

"Just incase we need to make a quick escape or something," he said with his monotone. "There, you have your space. Happy now?" _So he does actually help around?_

"I am," I replied with a smile and sat at the opposite end of the table from him. I took out my laptop from the computer bag and started setting my stuff in front of me. We were set at the ends of the table so that we couldn't see eachothers' screens, Hanzo on the closet side.

"I'm ready to leave now, Maou-sama," Ashiya said and looked at us from the corner of his eye. "Should we ask Kamazuki-san to keep an eye on them?" he added, removing the olive green apron he always wore.

"We don't need a babysitter," Hanzo hissed at the blond.

"I strongly disagree," Ashiya said and folded up the peace of cloth in his hand before placing it in the closet. "Well, sire? What is your desicion?" Maou looked at us with a neutral expression.

"Well, I wouldn't want them going off destroying bridges again," Maou sighed and I simply blinked at him. _Really, now? No trust on me? Uh, I suppose I dug my own grave... _"I think we should call her here just for precaution," he continued and stood up, placing a hand against his hips. "Sorry about that," he said, pointing his words to me. I shrugged with another awkward smile. "Let's head out, Ashiya." Ashiya gave me and Hanzo a wide grin. I suppose you could say he won this round.

The demon king and his right hand man took their leave with few words exchanged with us. They only warned us not to bother Kamazuki too much, which I at least had no intention in doing. It was about two minutes of alone time that I got with Hanzo after they left.

"What are they going out to celebrate, anyway?" I asked with an amused look.

"I think Maou got another raise or something... He's such a hard-working employee it's ridiculous," Hanzo sighed. "They could at least bring me leftovers when they go out, but no." I chuckled at his problem.

"Sounds pretty mean. I guess you really pissed them off when you came here," I said and started my computer. He simply shrugged at me, his eyes shifting on his own screen.

"Oh, right – did you bring food with you?" he said, turning to look at me again. I folded my arms.

"I did. I hope frozen pizza's fine with you," I said and took my black bag. I opened up it's zipper and took out the pizza boxes that just barely fit inside it. "I wasn't going to spend my money on anything more expensive."

"Hmm? At least it's better than pork bowl," he said and took the boxes from me. "I'm sort of surprised you didn't just steal these," he added with a smirk as he got up and headed towards the kitchen counters. It was a weird image of him standing there, since he usually only sat at the computer. He set the pizza boxes on the counter, turned on the oven and headed back over to his spot at the laptop.

"They were way too big to properly hide... Besides, I had money with me, so I didn't see the need to," I huffed. He chuckled as he sat down. "Why does everyone cling to the stupid 500 yen thing, anyway?" I asked with a tone slightly more aggravated. Urushihara simply looked at me with an insufferable smirk.

Both of our eyes moved from eachother to the door, when it opened without a warning and a blac-haired girl in a kimono walked in. She bowed as she entered, looking around in the room like I had.

"Maou-dono asked me to keep an eye on you," Kamazuki said and closed the door behind her.

"We know," Hanzo huffed and avoided looking at the young girl.

"No need to be rude, Lucifer. After the problems you've caused for your friends-"

"Not my friends," the purple-haired demon shot with narrowed eyes. Kamazuki sighed before continuing.

"After the problems you've caused you shouldn't expect anyone to fully trust you," she finished and walk farther inside the room. "Nice to see you again, Wakahisa-dono. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this arrangement might cause you," Kamazuki said with a warm smile. I blushed at her words.

"N-no, it's fine. It's totally, perfectly fine," I assured, avoiding eye-contact with anyone in the room. _Stop treating me so nicely, it's making me feel uncomfortable... _I got distracted from my thoughts when I heard Hanzo sighing. I looked towards him only to see him staring back. "What is it?"

"You realize that your hoodie doesn't match, right?" he asked with a disappointed look.

"Shut up. When did you become a fashion guru, anyway?" I hissed at the fallen angel. _Not him, too._

"It's hard not to pay mind to things poking at your eye," he said, beginning to sound like a philosopher. A slight growl escaped my throat as I took off the grey hoodie and laid it on my bags.

"There, happy?" I asked with obvious annoyment, glaring at him.

"Why should I be? It's just a hoodie," he said with a smirk. I let all my anger out in the form of a loud sigh.

"Whatever," I replied, starting up my Hearthrock. "How do you wanna play first?" I asked.

"Is this all you're going to eat today?" Kamazuki asked out of nowhere. Hanzo and I both turned to look at her with wide eyes, neither of us having realized she'd made her way to the kitchen counters and that she was now looking at our frozen pizzas. "This isn't very nutricious food."

"Could you just read a book or something? You're being annoying," Hanzo complained at the assassin. She gave him a deadly glare that seemed to make the demon flinch, even if only slightly.

"I'm trying to be friendly. You're going to get sick if you eat nothing but this junk," Kamazuki ranted with her own monotone voice. "This literally has no nutritional value."

"Well it's lucky you're not the one eating it," Hanzo said and turned to look at his computer screen again. I simply followed the conversation, trying to disappear into the floor.

"Neither are you," the girl in the kimono said as she took the boxes and stuffed them into the freezer. "I'll grab some actual ingredients from my apartment and make you a proper dinner," she said as she walked over to the door, exiting the apartment. Hanzo gave out a loud sigh.

"At least it's not pork bowl, right?" I said and gave him a small smile. To my surprise, he smiled back.

* * *

After Kamazuki returned she made us cook the dinner with her. I didn't mind, since I didn't get to do much cooking and I found it somewhat fun. Hanzo was very reluctant to even lift a figer, but for a reason or another he seemed to follow Kamazuki's orders after a short debate. We made sushi rolls, and after tasting them when they were done, they were one of the most (if no _the_ most) delicious sushi rolls I'd ever tasted. I couldn't help but admire Kamazuki's cooking skills.

After eating together Kamazuki and Hanzo did the dishes. I offered my help (mostly so I wouldn't destroy the friendly image I'd built for Kamazuki), but was denied by the black-haired girl, since I was a guest. After that me and Hanzo moved back to our computers while Kamazuki found herself a book to read. She seated herself at the other table, sometimes looking at us from behind her novel.

"So, should I use the spell now, or...?" I asked, looking over at Hanzo.

"No, you can do better damage if you save it," he said. "You should build up the attack power of your minions for this turn, if you can, and attack my hero."

"Oh, I guess you're right," I chuckled and followed his instructions.

"Of course I'm right," he said with a proud smirk as I ended my turn.

"You're getting way too cocky," I said, an eyebrow raised. "It's not like you're rank one either."

"No, but I'm rank three," he said, ending his turn with great damage done. "You're stuck at nineteen and eighteen."

"Well, excuse me for not being perfect," I sighed. "So now do I use the spell?" Hanzo nodded.

"You might win if you do as I say," he said and leaned his ching against his hand. "_Might._"

"Oh, so your teaching aren't that great after all, is what you're saying?" I shot.

"Mm, no, I'm saying you're stupid enough to fuck up even the easiest task given," he shot back.

"Must you always be so mean?" I asked with a cute, playful huff. He didn't respond, but his expression seemed to have slightly changed. I didn't realize there was a light blush on his cheeks until he lifted his eyes from the screen to take a quick look at me. I didn't know how to react, so I just ended up blushing myself. _Why are we always so awkward?_ I thought, both of us suddenly looking away from eachother in silence.

"Ahem." The silence was broken by a quiet noise made by the third person in the room. Kamazuki had hidden her face behind her book and just sat there. She must've followed the conversation enough to realize the awkwardness of the moment.

"A-anyway! So, umm, what's up with the weather these past days, huh?!" I practically yelled in my panic. Hanzo flinched back, obviously scared at my reaction.

"Stop yelling, you're giving me a heart-attack!" he yelled back.

"I'm sorry!" I replied and buried my face into my hands. There was another short silence before Hanzo broke it with a sigh.

"It's been pretty windy, I guess... I mean, it's not like I've been outside, but I've seen the trees bend through the window," he replied. _Wait, he actually replied to my question? It was obviously just a panic-question. Why the hell would he answer it?!_

"Uh, yeah... I like stormy weather, but I don't like it when it prevents me from wearing skirts," I said.

"You're wearing one today, aren't you?" Hanzo raised a brow at my statement.

"Well, yeah, but... it wasn't _that_ windy when I came here," I argued, looking outside the window. "What is this weird topic, anyway?"

"I don't know, you were the one who started it," the demon argued. "What would you like to talk about, then?" _Just... one thing. _My heart skipped a beat.

"Nothing special," I lied, turning to look at my computer screen with my practised cool. "Have you heard about the new updates coming to RoW?"

* * *

We continued our playing throughout the whole afternoon. After some time Maou and Ashiya came back from their dinner and indeed brought only pork bowl with them. Hanzo declined the meal and Kamazuki explained we'd already had dinner. After that she left, leaving us and our awkward moments with a pleasure, I guessed. The afternoon went fine, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized something.

After Kamazuki left, I felt... relieved. First I couldn't understand why I felt so strongly about her precence and that when she was gone a smile spread across my face. I didn't realize it until I'd collected my stuff and left the apartment. Only then my mind started working properly.

I was jealous. I was jealous of the odd connection between Kamazuki and Hanzo. I was jealous of the way he listened to her and jealous of the way she looked after him. I knew it was ridiculous, those two would never work together. They were way too different. It didn't change the fact that I was being jealous out of my mind. I hated the possessive feeling that took over my mind, but even when I tried to brush it away, I couldn't. I couldn't get rif of-

Before I knew it, I'd hit something that wasn't supposed to be there and fell against the hard tarmac. I gave out a quiet scream as I fell on my ass and watched my bags hit the ground.

"What the hell?!" I yelled, looking over at the thing I'd ran into. It wasn't quite what I was expecting.

"Ouch..." a pink-haired woman in a white pencil dress and a blue jacket complained as she got up on her feet. "I'm sorry – are you alright?" Yusa asked and froze as she realized who I was. "Wakahisa-san..."

"I'm just fine," I replied, taking my computer bag from the ground and seeing if the laptop was still intact. It didn't at least seem broken, but I knew I had to take a closer look at it back at the dormitory. Yusa offered me her hand and I grabbed it. She helped me up with ease and I picked up my other bag as well.

"Are you coming from the demons' place?" she asked, looking over at the building behind the concrete wall.

"I am... I'm more curious what you're doing here, Yusa-san" I said with my head slightly tilted to the side. Yusa seemed to have went a little difficult after that.

"Well, I'm doing my duties as the Hero..." she said.

"You're... stalking them?" I asked, looking up at the building again.

"I'm _not_ stalking them! I'm making sure they don't cause any trouble!" she yelled, hands squeezed into fists. I flinched at the reaction, backing away half a step.

"Okay, I get it... Sorry," I said and gave her a nervous chuckle. "Didn't mean to offend your honor." Yusa sighed, yellow-green eyes taking a look at the tarmac before returning to me.

"I sense celestial energy on you..." she started, starling me with her sudden change of subject. "I guess Honda-san decided to trust you. I guessed she would."

"Uh, yeah..." I replied a little awkwardly, squeezing my hands around my bags' starps.

"I hope you'll live up to her trust," she said with narrowed eyes, making me back away again. _Why was she being so serious? Could no one trust me at all?_

"I will," I said with a shaky voice, eyeing the tarmac. The redhead scared me when she was like this.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude... It's just that this is a very serious matter, and as far as I've understood, you're not a person that's usually being considered very serious," she said, her tone slightly softer.

"Uh, I guess not, but I can be serious if I want to," I argued, gathering some of my lost courage. Yusa nodded.

"Good. I just want to know that there are allies I can trust incase thigs go downhill," she said. "The situation we're put in isn't easy..."

"I know," I replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you. I should head home as well," she said and let out a slight chuckle. It eased my mind a bit and I gave her a smile.

"It's fine, I'm not in a hurry," I said.

"I'll see you around, Wakahisa-san," Yusa said as she headed down the street with a smile. I waved at her before heading my own way.

I hadn't noticed it myself, but the celestial magic I'd harvested from the Holy Vitamin Beta had been getting stronger over the day. I looked at my hand and saw a slight green glow eminating from it. The feeling of magic on my fingertips was so familiar... I hadn't even realized how much I'd missed it until that moment. My lips curved into a smile as I headed towards Sasahaki North.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**This chapter could be better, but the points come across enough. I'm not so happy with the conversations between Hana and Lucy, since they mostly consist of sass and awkwardness, but I'll try to work on that in the later chapters. I also noticed I'm having some trouble with Suzuno's and Emi's characters, but I'm doing my best. :'D **

**Negative stuff aside, there's one more chapter coming this weekend! :D Are you ready, are you ready, are you ready for me~? Are you ready? Let's go! (An old Finnish pop song.)**

**Anyways, I'd love it so much if you'd follow, favorite and/or review this story. It would honestly mean so much to me! :3 Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one!**


	17. Chapter 16 - No asylum for lunatics

**[A/N]**

**This is the last chapter for this weekend!**

**Sorry about the first part, I'm aware it's a bit clichéd. It's just where my writing took me. XD Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 16 – No asylum for lunatics

The school day had just ended. Usually I would've headed back to the dormitory after finishing my last class, but today was different. Ayame looked somewhat dumbfounded when I told her to go back without me. I told her I had something to do and ran off before she could say anything else.

I found a spot at the school's perimeter, a corner with a couple of trees, bushes and a concrete fence blocking the view to the street. It was just far enough from the school and dormitory buildings that there wasn't a proper view to the corner from there, either. I sat beside a tree, enjoying the cool shadow it gave me. I pulled my knees slightly closer to my chest and pulled my left hand in front of me.

I looked at my hand and let the light green glow take over it's surface. A grin spread to my face when I felt the familiar magic power running through my fingers. _Oh, how much I've missed this feeling. _I trickled my fingers slightly and the glow from my fingers created small electric beams that went from finger to finger. I chuckled at the tickling sensation. If Ayame would've seen what I was doing, she would've scolded me. And for a reason, since I shouldn't have been wasting the little magic we had. I just couldn't resist. Since last Sunday I'd wanted to do something with it.

I squeezed my hand into a fist and opened it again. I watched as a glowing, green flower grew from my palm. It looked a little like what this world would call a bluebell. My smile turned into a wistful one - it reminded me of the flowers at my garden. _I used to grow this type under my windows_, I remembered. The longer I kept staring at the flower with emptying eyes I couldn't help but think about my home. For some time now I'd noticed my feelings towards my past getting stronger and stronger. To be completely honest, I missed my past home... more than I probably should have. _Was it really the right choice to leave...?_

"Hana-san?" Etsuko called me from about ten meters away. I closed my hand and the glowing flower disappeared.

"Yes?" I asked with an uncharacteristically friendly smile and slid my left hand into my bag.

"What are you doing here all alone? And what the hell was glowing?" Etsuko asked and crossed her arms. Until now I hadn't noticed that there was a group of other students a few meters behind her.

"Oh, just my phone," I said, pulled out the flip phone from my bag and presented it to the incredulous brunette. "I just thought I'd come here to sit and relax for a while, ya'know?" I said, taking a look at the sky. Only now I realized how beautifully blue it was today.

"You're such a weirdo," Etsuko giggled. The other teens eyed me from behind her. "Hey, instead of spending time by yourself, why don't you come hang out with us?" she continued with a surprisingly genuine tone. _Maybe it's because of them_, I thought, looking at the group of teens.

"I don't know... I mean, uh..." I tried to come up with an excuse to not go. I didn't like hanging out with strangers.

"Stop being so shy!" Etsuko exclaimed and made her way to me. She grabbed my arm before I could resist and pulled me towards the group.

"H-hey!" I yelled and pulled myself out of her grasp after realizing what had happened. It was too late, however, since I was already standing in the circle of the unknown students. I looked around myself, already feeling the blush creeping up on my face.

"Etsuko-san, you really have some cute friends," one of the guys said after taking a look at me. I bet he thought he was being real smooth. "What's your name?" he asked with a smug smile.

"Uh... erm," I stuttered, both hands tight around my bag's strap. "Hana Wakahisa." The students looked at me with wide smiles. There were about ten in total, didn't care enough to count the specific number. Four boys. All of them were wearing Sasahaki North uniforms.

"Oh, you're friends with Matsuoka-san, right?" one of the girls asked. I nodded. _So that's how I'm known around the school?_

"No, wait! I remember her from something else, too. Wasn't she the girl that totally killed at the karaoke at Akira-kun's party last year?" another girl said. I had hoped nobody remembered that. It was one of Etsuko's bright ideas to drag me into that party and make me sing in front of everyone. I was embarrased beyond belief then.

"Oh, yeah! That's right. You're _that_ Wakahisa-san," the smooth guy said and made his way to me. "Hey, why won't you come over to my house to practise those lips sometime?" he said and slid an arm on my elbows. _That's it. _A couple of guys and even girls laughed at his attempt at hitting on me.

"I don't know about my lips, but my feet certainly could use some training. Would you like one up your ass?" I smirked at the guy. His expression turned into a surprised one and a couple of the girls started laughing uncontrollably – little did they know I had full intentios of actually carrying out my threat if the guy wouldn't back off. The situation felt so clichéd it almost killed me.

"That's enough, Kenta-kun, leave my bitch alone," Etsuko laughed and wrapped an arm around my waist. I looked at her with an unpleasant expression, but at least her claiming of me made the guy move away.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," the guy called Kenta apologized, the smug smile returning on his face. Etsuko let go of my waist with an expression that I swore said "you owe me."

"Believe it or not, he's actually a nice guy. He's just a little pushy," a girl with long, black hair said. _Wait, isn't that Nobuko's roommate? Huh. _I hadn't recognized the traditional japanese beauty until now. It was probably because of all the hassle.

"Anyways, where should we go for food? SFC?" one of the guys suddenly asked, changing the topic completely. I felt my phone vibrating in my bag and looked towards it.

"No way, the manager is _so_ creepy," one of the girls replied with a judging tone. "He's always flirting with all the girls even though he's probably old enough to be their father. I mean, ew."

"Does that mean you wanna go to MgRonald's or something? We've spent way too many hours there already. I'm fed up with the place by now," the guy said. I stopped following the conversation after hesitating for a while and took out the phone from my bag. I opened the lid to check my messages.

_**Hanzo Urushihara**_

**What's up?**

_Why the hell is he texting me?_

_**You**_

**Why the hell are you texting me?**

_**Hanzo Urushihara**_

**Uh... I was bored? I don't know. Wanna play HR?**

_**You**_

**Right now?**

I looked around in the ring of students - everyone seemed to have forgotten about my precence. It was my chance to slip out of the situation. I turned my attention back to my phone again.

_**Hanzo Urushihara**_

**Well it's not like you have anything better to do, right?**

_**You**_

**No, I don't. Hey, could I come over while we're at it?**

It wasn't only an opportunity to slip out of the current situation, it was also a chance to spend time with Hanzo. A smile crept up on my face.

_**Hanzo Urushihara**_

**If you can stand the housewife... sure.**

I chuckled out loud.

_**You**_

**LOL, I think I can handle him. I'll be right there.**

I closed the lid of my phone and slipped it into my bag. I looked through all the teens and noticed they'd apparently finished their conversation about where they were going to eat. They were all drifting away from the school territory.

"You coming, Wakahisa-san?" Nobuko's roommate called.

"N-no, sorry! I just realized there's somewhere I have to be right now," I said and backed away from the group. "Sorry," I said and shrugged. The death stare on Etsuko's face was piercing when I started jogging towards the girls' dormitory._ I'm choosing demons over a group of harmless teens_, I reminded myself.

* * *

I made it into our dormitory room and as soon as I was inside I leaned my back against the door, a relieved sigh escaping my lips.

"So, you're back," Ayame said from her studying desk without turning to look at me.

"Yeah," I replied and threw my school bag on my bed. I went straight over to the computer to collect the stuff I needed to bring over to Hanzo's.

"Where were you?" Ayame asked and looked at me over her shoulder.

"You know, just, out..." I said, avoiding the answer. I was pretty sure she could've guessed it, though.

""Just out", huh?" she sighed. At that moment I knew she knew. "Well, anyway... I noticed you started using the Holy Vitamin Beta," she said and turned around in her chair. I turned towards her, too.

"You too," I said. "I can sense the celestial energy all over you."

"Mmh, I couldn't resist the temptation," she chuckled. "I hadn't realized how much I missed magic."

"I know exactly what you mean," I chuckled back.

"We shouldn't waste it though," she said with a raised brow and a judging tone.

"I know, I'm sorry mom," I sighed and went back to packing my computer.

"I know you know, and I know I can't control what you do with your magic, either. But remember that you promised to be responsible with it," she said. She spoke like a parent giving life lessons to their child. I nodded. "Sorry, It's just..."

"I'm different?" I chuckled. She seemed taken aback for a moment. "I remember our fight just fine."

"Yeah. Sorry," she simply said before turning back to her books. She didn't say anything else after that and the silence left me feeling vulnerable. I didn't get why, so I just brushed off the feeling with a sigh.

* * *

I'd arrived at the demon castle about an hour ago. Things looked very normal with Maou being at work, Ashiya doing the house-hold chores and glaring at me and Hanzo when he got the chance, and of course, me and Hanzo sitting at the ends of the computer table with our laptops. We'd been playing Hearthrock the whole time I'd been there and until this game I had been on a losing streak. My next move, however, turned the tides with a huge blast.

"HAA! DID YOU SEE THAT?! I TOTALLY BEAT YOUR ASS!" I screamed and raised my fists to the air when the text "You win!" appeared on my screen. I couldn't remember the last time I was so excited. "Well, what do you have to say now, _champion_?" I said, putting heavy sarcasm on the word "champion." Hanzo just sighed and leaned his chin against his hand.

"Well, it was one victory out of, what, fifty past games? Probably more," he said and gave me his most annoying smirk. I folded my arms.

"You just can't handle the fact that I'm gonna totally wreck you from now on," I shot with a confident grin. He shrugged.

"We'll see about that... wanna go again, "champion?"" he asked with his monotone. The victory grin was still firmly placed on my face.

"You sure you wanna taste defeat so soon again?" I chuckled as I accepted his game request.

"Alright, I get it – you did good. Can you please stop being annoying now?" he sighed. I blushed at his words but still didn't lose my grin.

"I don't think it's possible for me to not be annoying~" I half-muttered. "One could say there's no winning for you in this situation," I said, holding back my laughter. The demon sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It looks like I'm gonna have to destroy you this time... I didn't know winning a game would turn you into that," he said. I raised a brow.

"Turn me into what?" I huffed.

"You know, unbearable," Hanzo said before ending his turn in the game. I flinched slightly. That's right, I wasn't a very competitive person. I never celebrated a victory and didn't complain if I lost. The only people who'd ever gotten me to really want something were Flamm (remember my redheaded friend from Heaven?), Etsuko and Hanzo.

Flamm always used to challenge the things I was confident with myself and that of course dented my pride. I always felt so good when beating him in flying and so terrible when I lost to him at fighting. In the end, however, he always managed to make me smile. I shook the thoughts of him out of my mind before I could push myself to the edge of depression again.

The second person who always got me competitive was Etsuko. When I met her she seemed like a normal girl. Her friendly attitude pulled me into her circles, but before I knew it, I started seeing the other side of her. I realized she lived on attention of other people. I noticed how she was cabable of tying them around her little finger without even having magic. I noticed how arrogant she was. For some reason I never found the courage or will to stand against her, so I had to stay silent about the whole matter. The whole situation annoyed me so much.

The third and final person who got me celebrating a victory was Hanzo. The relationship I had with him reminded me of the one I had with Flemm, because we always threw empty insults at eachother. We had similar tastes in how we spent our time and it felt like we had a similar view of the world. I hadn't known him for long, but somehow it felt like we'd been friends for a while. For some reason his company gave me confidence... even all the way back when I raced him in Heaven. I chuckled to myself. _That was a while back, wasn't it?_

"Hana?" the purple-haired demon called and I woke up from my thoughts.

"W-what?" I squeaked.

"You started laughing all of a sudden," he lifelessly said, eyes glued to his screen. "I thought you might've been possessed or something."

"Oh, sorry... I got lost in thought," I said and focused my attention back to the game.

"I didn't know you had any of those," Ashiya half-mumbled over from the balcony door. He'd just finished hanging the laundry and walked in with an empty laundry basket.

"You'd be surprised," Hanzo said with his monotone. "You should see all the messages about anime and other stuff she spams on Zkybe. I always have to go offline when she doesn't shut up."

"H-hey, come on now! It's not only me spamming the chat... Gina-chan does it too!" I defended.

"It's different," he said.

"How come?" I asked and folded my arms again.

"Because her messages consist of more than "oh my gosh did you see how hot Gray looked in that last episode?!"" he said, making his pitch higher when quoting me. He folded his arms and glared at my embarrased form.

"That's not all I write, idiot!" I said, suddenly feeling the urge to throw something at him. _So this is why everyone hates him? _"I don't understand how that exact part caught your eye, anyway," I growled.

"He's jealous," Ashiya casually said from the kitchen counters he'd made his way to. I froze when I heard those words, but that was nothing when compared to Hanzo's reaction.

"WHAT?!" he yelled, his face suddenly flushed dark red. "Where the hell did you get THAT idea?!" he continued his yelling, arms moving through the air in clearly panicked motions. All Ashiya had to do was slowly turn to look at him with a smirk on his face. Hanzo turned to look away from the blond when he realized he'd lost his cool. I started giggling at the over-the-top reaction, even if I was slightly shocked. _I guess he hadn't expected Ashiya to attack him like this._

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, so I decided to simply distract myself from it. I looked out the window. The sky was still blue and it didn't seem like the wind from last weekend was present at all. _Perfect flying weather_, I thought. Thoughts of Heaven came back to me again. Thoughts of my home, my friends, everything. The thoughts I'd been shaking off for a while now wanted to creep into my mind so badly. I didn't want to admit I missed everything I'd left behind, but I couldn't help it. I loved my new life in this world, but after I ran into Hanzo at the game store it felt like everything I'd built here was suddenly stolen from me.

From the moment I saw him standing there next to me, I hadn't simply been shocked it was him. I'd been shocked because I knew there was no going back. I couldn't possibly live the way I'd lived for the past two years. I knew that I had to get away, run as fast as I could and maybe start a third time somewhere else. I didn't want to believe this was what my life had turned into. But... no matter how much the situation frightened me, I couldn't stay away from him.

Something about the fallen angel pulled me towards him like fly-paper attracts flies. At some point I realized I was chasing after him, because I didn't believe he was real. It was like he was still a piece of my memories I couldn't quite grasp. The one person who told me I was strong so long ago. The one person who recognized my strenght just happened to be the most powerful being I knew at the time. The whole racing thing with him still felt like a distant dream. Everything was out of order. It was so hard for me to believe he was actually sitting at the other end of the small table.

It was so hard to believe the one person I'd always looked up to was so similar to myself. It was so hard to believe I would ever talk to him like he was my equal. I didn't want to realize the fact that he was real. I didn't want his words to be true – I didn't want myself to mean anything, I didn't want to be strong. I wanted to be able to disappear when I felt overwhelmed... I wanted to be able to run without my guilt.

But why did I need to run...?

He was right there – the one person I didn't want to run from. The one who gave me confidence and who I could easily laught with or at. The one who seemed to see right through me with his empty glares. Why did it matter how long I'd known him? Why should I be afraid? What would be the worst thing that could happen if I just opened my mouth now? My heart could break, but who cares about my heart, right? It's not anymore important than anyone else's. It was all meaningless. I shouldn't have anything to be afraid of... Besides, I had nothing to lose: It was obvious I wasn't completely meaningless to him.

"We're out of salt, so I'm gonna go ask Kamazuki-san if she has any," Ashiya said, his words barely registering to me. "Don't destroy anything while I'm gone, alright?" he said before leaving the apartment. The uncomfortable silence continued even after he was gone.

I was being such a teenager again. He was being such a teenager. This world, these human bodies, they seemed to be affecting us somehow. They must've been, since I couldn't come up with any other reasonable explanation. When exactly had I started letting my emotions take control over my mind? At what point did I start feeling like I used to feel again? I didn't know how long we'd been sitting there, the consept of time was getting hazy for me.

"Hana...?" I noticed Hanzo calling my name and my eyes instantly met his. He seemed to flinch at the sudden eye-contact and I turned to look at the table top.

_That's right, it's just my emotions talking, right? _I thought. _This is ridiculous. If I want something, I shouldn't be afraid of it. The last thoughts I had before leaving Heaven... I thought, "why is there nothing that I want anymore?" _I felt myself beginning to shudder. _I thought I should chase after something _I_ want. People are selfish... Sal, Phan, Flemm, Gina, Ayame, Etsuko, Nobuko, Chiho, Yusa, Kamazuki, Ashiya, Maou, Hanzo... everyone... it's my turn to be selfish too. _By that point my thoughts were nothing but an incomprehensible mess.

That's when I did something incredibly stupid.

I saw Hanzo flinch again when I made eye-contact with him. For a moment I just looked at him, unsure if I should do anything. He was staring back at me with a confused expression. _Well, here goes nothing... _I though, a small smile flashing by my lips. Without thinking it any farther, I climbed on top of the small table separating us and watched as the fallen angel flinched back from me. I was faster than him, however, and locked our lips before he could escape.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**OMGOMGOMG! THEY KISSED?!**

**Anyways, I had a really hard time writing this chapter. I hope it doesn't turn out to be complete shit. Hana's nervous breakdown at the end was very difficult to make understandable and the beginning became reeeeaally clichéd with the group of teens. Luckily it was only a small part in a multi-chapter fanfic, right?**

**I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Favorites, follows and reviews would be more than heavenly! :3 Love you all, see you in the next chapter! The next one will be up sometime next week.**


	18. Chapter 17 - Rgrts on living in the mmnt

**[A/N]**

**I'm a week late... I know. I'm sorry! I have no proper excuse... *bows down head in shame* Here it finally is, however - your new chapter!**

**There's something I wanna adress from waaaayy many chapters ago: the support money thing. There is just no way to explain it in the story (I thought about it probably more than I should've), so I'm lifting a weight off mine and maybe others' chests by simply explaining what I meant by that:**

**I have no idea how money stuff works in Japan. Like, nada. However, I know how some of the money stuff in Finland works. Concerning this particular issue, I'm gonna talk about support money received by students. In Finland, if you study in high school or a higher degree educational institution without any money from your parents (or you're an adult and you simply don't/can't have a job), you receive support money from the government. It's meant to buy food and books and all the necessary stuff for studying.**

**What made me think Japan worked even somewhat similarily with their money stuff (which I bet they don't, because I honestly don't know) was the fact that they have major issues with people having social anxiety. To some people even answering the door can be a challenge. So, if they all are not working from home, where do they get money? It was just a guess that maybe they have a system similar to Finland's. So, that's what I meant with them "living off of support money."**

**Anyway, that's all I had to say. If you read all this... hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 17 – Rgrts on living in the mmnt

There I was, on the table separating me and the purple-haired NEET, pressing my lips against his without even understanding what I was doing.

It was a short kiss, nothing special, and after I realized it even happened... My face became completely flushed when I noticed the shocked expression on his face. My heart was beating like crazy and my hands were shaking. Only a few seconds passed before I realized I hadn't moved. I backed away from the table, surprised I hadn't destroyed either of our computers. I packed my stuff in record time, not even looking towards the other angel.

"I'm sorry!" I yelled as I backed away to the door, grabbing my shoes as I excited the apartment. I saw he was about to say something, but didn't stay and listen. I turned around behind the door and almost ran into Ashiya and Kamazuki. "SORRY!" I yelled to the blond's face before running out of the hallway.

I tried running down the stairs of Villa Rosa only to slip on one of the steps. I fell down the stairs and before I could even properly realize what had happened, found myself from Maou's arms. I looked up at him with widened eyes. He looked somewhat annoyed. Then I noticed Chiho and Yusa standing beside him.

"Seriously, you should watch your step on those sta-"

"I'M SORRY!" I yelled and pushed myself out of the raven's grasp. I didn't look at them another time before running off. I didn't stop running until I reached our dorm room and hid under my cover. When Ayame asked what was wrong with me, I didn't answer.

* * *

I didn't know exactly how long I'd lied on my bed. I wasn't sure if I had slept, either. All I knew was that my body was covered in cold sweat, my sheets were all in my tight squeeze and a few sunshafts shone over my neck to the wall. My throat and eyes felt dry. Had I maybe cried last night? My vision was a little hazy, so I decided to not move.

I lied there for a good while before I heard the door open and close. Footsteps made their over to the right side of the room, stopped and then came a little closer to me. I tightened my grip on the sheets and made myself a little smaller. I didn't want her to speak.

"You shouldn't be skipping school on our last week, Hana-chan," Ayame sighed from behind my back. I pretended not to hear her. "You should get up and take a shower... you're still wearing yesterday's clothes." I took a quick glance at myself and noticed I was indeed still fully clothed. "Get up now, it's four pm."

Ayame stood there for a while before sighing and making her way back to her side of the room. I heard a zipper open and then something being lied on her table with loud thumps. _Books_, I guessed, but didn't really care too much. The silence between us didn't last long, to my displeasure.

"Listen, Hana-chan. I don't know what exactly happened yesterday, but you're acting really weird and I don't like it." My heart skipped a beat when an image of yesterday's events flashed in my head. I took a deep breath and Ayame seemed to have noticed it. "Are you just gonna be a shut-in from now on? Just tell me what's bugging you and we'll get over this stupid problem." I didn't reply and Ayame sighed once again. "Enough. You're acting like a child, Hana-chan. Get a grip and talk to me." Still no reply. Ayame walked closer to my bed. "Did something happen with Urushihara-kun?"

At the mentioning of his name my heart started beating like crazy. My cheeks heated up and I felt myself starting to shudder. _What was I doing? I'm an idiot!_

"Hana-chan...?" Ayame asked somewhat startled. Was my panic really that noticable? "What did he do to you?" she coldly asked. "Did he hurt you?" I shook my head. "Then... what is it? You can tell me," the blonde assured and sat down next to me. I opened my mouth as if to say something, but closed it before words came out. "Hana-chan?" I buried my face into my pillow. "Fine then. I'll call him and ask," Ayame said.

"NO!" I yelled, raising my flushed face from the pillow. She looked at me with startled eyes and I turned mine towards the wall. _Fuck... _

"Then you have to tell me yourself," she insisted and folded her arms. I stayed quiet for a little longer before taking a deep breath and speaking.

"I kissed him..." I said as quietly as I could, my voice shaking.

"What? I can't hear you when you mumble like that," Ayame said and leaned in closer to me.

"I kissed him," I said slightly louder before pulling the cover over my face. I didn't know which expression Ayame wore, but I guessed it was a mix of shock and horror. I was sure she was going to yell at me, but I was surprisingly wrong.

"Oh?" she chuckled. "Well... I suppose that's it for not getting too attached..." she said and I gathered my courage to glance at her. There was a wistful smile on her face. "If that's all you're worrying about you really should get up." I wasn't sure if Ayame's calm reaction helped or made me feel worse. I pulled the cover back over my head.

"I'm scared," I squeaked.

"Why? Did he reject you or something?" Ayame asked. I shook my head even though she couldn't see it.

"I-I just..." I swallowed.

"Which are you scared of, him liking you or disliking you?" Ayame boldly asked.

"Neither!" I yelled, pulling the cover off my face again. I sat up to glare at her. "It's not that! I don't... It doesn't matter if he does or if he doesn't! It's just... I... I can't..." I held back my tears and placed my palms against my face. My breathing was getting irregular.

"Well, why can't you? I don't understand the problem here," the blonde said with a somewhat irritated tone. "I mean, sure, he's a demon and all that, but-"

"IT'S NOT THAT!" I yelled, pulling my hands off my face. Tears were falling down my cheeks and against the cover. "I'm just scared! I-I'm scared because I... This all, it's... it's too much. I can't handle it. What I did was stupid! STUPID! I don't understand WHY I did it! I WANT TO ERASE IT!" Ayame blinked before speaking.

"Why the hell are you panicking like crazy? Calm down. You just kissed him, it's not something you can't overcome," she said, irritated out of her mind. _I... I don't... I can't... I can't handle... I... I..._

"No... I... I don't..." I struggled to restore my composure. "I..." I failed at my attempt, my breathing getting messier again. I don't know at what point I'd raised both of my hands to my chest.

"Alright," Ayame said, dropping her hands in a motion meaning she'd given up. "Whatever. Just... go take a shower and you'll feel better, hmm?" she suggested. "You can't just lie in bed for the rest of your life." _Oh, how I wish I could. _Ayame got up from the bed and walked over to her books. "I'm right here if you need anything... and all that." I just sat there, both hands shaking like crazy. I waited for it to stop before I dared to try standing. I took a deep breath. Maybe a hot shower was the best option for now.

* * *

I turned off the shower and breathed in the hot steam in the room. My body felt much more relaxed. I found my familiar dolphin towel, dried myself and wrapped it around my body, wrinkling the image of the sea mammal. I grabbed my clothes and left the shower room with a blank expression.

I walked down the hall back towards our room, eyes glued to the floor. It felt a little cold against my bare feet, but I didn't have to try hard to ignore the feeling. Stuff was running through my mind way too rapidly to properly realize physical discomfort.

"Hey, Hana-san!" a joyful voice chirped and before I realized I'd been stopped by Nobuko. I moved my lifeless eyes from the floor to her and she shifted her weight uncomfortably. "Err... you weren't at school today, right? Are you sick?" the brunette asked and adjusted her glasses.

"Sick...? I guess you could say so..." I forced her a small smile and it was painfully obvious I had.

"Is everything alright? If you don't mind me asking..." she spoke a little more cautiously and tilted her head to the side like a puppy.

"Yeah... I'll be back to school tomorrow and all that. You don't have to worry about it," I said with a wide smile. "I just had a little headache this morning, so I decided it was probably better to sleep."

"Headache, huh?" the brunette giggled. "Your excuses have been getting more boring lately, Hana-san," Nobuko said, refering to my multiple truancies and the ridiculous stories I came up to cover them with. "I remember the days you used to come up with something like "Ayame-chan ate my potato salad so it was only my right to challenge her into a duel to the death,"" Nobuko stated, making an impeccable impression of an emotionless me making that statement. "My favorite one was "a demon came and burned all my underwear so I had to go and shop for new ones,"" she explained, still continuing her impression. A slight chuckle escaped my lips and I covered my mouth with my free hand. Nobuko gave a warm smile.

"I suppose we all grow up at some point," I said, the smile slowly fading from my lips. I hadn't meant what I said at all, but at least it was something.

"Just remember not to grow up too boring," Nobuko said with a wide smile. "Well, I have to go to Etsuko-chan's now, but I'll see you around, okay?" I nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, see you around." She waved at me before entering the staircase. I looked towards the direction she'd went, a smile still present on my lips. After standing there for another short moment I turned around and headed back to our dorm room. _Thanks, Nobuko-san – for making me laugh._

* * *

I made it back to the dorm room and threw my dirty clothes in a pile on my chair. I stood there and stared at the empty studying desk for a moment. _Where is my computer? _I looked around in the room to find my computer bag. _Oh, that's right... _I sighed and made my way to the bag.

"Feeling better?" Ayame asked from her desk. I didn't respond and grabbed the computer bag. After moving it, however, I realized there was another bag behind it. I put the computer bag back down and reached for the black one. "I'll take that as a yes, then... Ready to talk about it?" I took a quick glance at the blonde before looking inside my black bag and taking out my phone. I opened it up and looked at the lit up screen.

**1 received call(s): Hanzo Urushihara**

I stared at the name, the shaking of my hands slowly returning. I flipped the phone shut before it went too far and turned to look at Ayame.

"There's nothing to talk about," I finally answered.

"You sure?" Ayame asked with clear disbelief. I looked away from her. "You wanna hear what I think?" _Not really, no. _"I don't actually care whether you do or not, I'm gonna say it anyway." My hands made their way to the top edge of the towel around me, my phone still in one of them. I turned to face the other angel as she stood up. "I think this has happened before."

"What do you mean by that?" I lifelessly asked.

"I mean that you shutting yourself in isn't anything new. You've done it before – remember?" I blinked. "Back when we were still soldiers in the army, when the war began, you began disappearing from training. Right?" I looked away from the other girl again. "Remember that one time I came over your place to assure you to return?" I looked at her from the corner of my eye.

"I do."

* * *

_**Then**_

* * *

There were loud knocks on the door of my small house. The sound echoed through the few rooms, all the way to my bedroom. I didn't want to answer the door, so I just pretended to still be asleep. The knocking didn't stop though, it only got louder.

"DRENUMI! I know you're in there!" came a firm yell from the door. I flinched at the sound and got up into a sitting position. "LET ME IN OR I'LL CRASH THIS DOOR." I rubbed my eyes and got up from the bed.

"I'll be right there!" I yelled and looked down to my light green night gown. "Just... let me get dressed first!"

"YOU'D BETTER HURRY UP."

_**You were always such a hothead, huh?**_

_**Shut up.**_

I changed into a white, loose dress with a wide silver neckline and a silver ribbon working as a belt. I also put on silver slippers and tied my signeture black ribbon in my hair. Heaven's fashion always made me feel a little impersonal. Maybe it was the color palette?

"SERIOSLY, ARE YOU DONE?" came another yell from the door. I sighed and left my bedroom, walked through the hallway to the door and opened the lock. Before I could even grab the handle the door was already swept over, making me flinch back from it.

"Woah!" I yelled as I backed away and against a wall.

"Took you long enough..." a grumpy woman wearing a soldier's outfit with a white and silver jacket said. Group leaders' jackets usually had silver details, generals and archangels had gold and archangels wore golden laurels to top off the uniform. The jacket had padding on the shoulders and made the woman wearing it look more official than she actually was. Her blond and red hair was tied back on a short ponytail and her silvery eyes wore a deadly glare.

"Audiana herself at_ my_ house... what an honor," I said with heavy sarcasm.

"Cut it, I'm NOT in the mood right now," the blonde growled and slammed shut the door behind her. "I'm here for one reason and one reason only – to get you back." I sighed.

"Guessed as much," I said and slipped away from her and towards the kitchen. "Do you maybe want a drink? I definitely need one right now..." I said, the last part coming out more as a mumble.

"I told you I'm not in the mood for your attitude today," my group leader said and followed me into the kitchen. I looked through my cabinets for the wine. _Where did I put it again? _"I'm only interested in getting my best flier back."

"Best? Are you sure about that?" I smirked and made a happy face when I found the wine. I took it from a higher shelf and offered the bottle to the other angel. "Sure you don't want any?" She hesitated for a moment before grabbing the bottle and taking a quick taste of the wine. I smiled when she returned it, taking a drink myself.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe in your potential," Audiana said and sat on one of the dark, wooden stairs around my dinner table. I took another drink of the wine. "Why did you stop coming to training?" the blonde glanced at me with curiosity. I shrugged.

"It's natural not wanting to die in a war between humans and demons. It has nothing to do with me," I said.

"How can you be so selfish?" Audiana asked. I didn't give her an answer, I didn't think she would've understood either way. "Your comrades are all going to war and you're just cowering here, in your stupid little house in the middle of nowhere. Is that your plan?"

"So what if it is? It's not like you can do anything about it," I hissed, placing the wine bottle on the table. Audiana sighed before continuing.

"And I had high expectations for you, too..." she said, moving her gaze towards the stone flooring. "Your magic power holds so much room for developement." I blinked.

"Huh? What the hell do you mean? My magic power is pretty average for a soldier of my rank. You should go talk to someone like Sal if you want a powerful magic-user."

"I suppose it's impossible to carve the word "developement" into your brain. Sal is already reaching the limit of her powers – yours are only starting to show," Audiana said, raising one of her brows. "Your improved flying abilities are only the beginning. Who knows how much power your body actually holds?" I blinked in confusion. "I suppose only the people around you can tell. If you continued your training now... you could one day be a very powerful angel. Dare I even say you have the potential to becoming and archangel." I blinked again.

"W-woah, don't go that far... I don't... care about becoming an archangel or any of that," I resisted. "Besides, it's not like it could actually happen. Your expectations of me are just way too high."

"Could be..." she said, "but then again, might not be. We'll never know if you stop here." I stayed quiet and took a look at the wine bottle. I saw the reflection of my kitchen window on it's side and turned to look outside. Dark clouds everywhere... it was about to rain. The weather had been stormy for weeks. "Please, come back to training. Your team needs you." I turned to face the blond with a blank expression, a sigh escaping my lips.

_**Do you remember what you said?**_

_**I do.**_

"I don't care."

* * *

_**Now**_

* * *

We stood there in silence, my hands folded and eyes away from Ayame. I saw her looking at me from the corner of my eye, but didn't give her the pleasure of receiving eye-contact.

"Are you going to become like that again? Are you going to stop caring completely?" I didn't move from my position. "If you're going to run away this time... I'm not coming with you." I flinched at the statement, but still didn't reply. I didn't want to admit I'd already made detailed plans of me grabbing all my things when Ayame was at school and taking the first bus out of town, only lacking the courage to actually carry out my plan. "I'd also rather you not run away. Not only because we have duties here, but because... because I think of you as a friend." The pressure in my chest seemed to be tightening. Somehow that simple statement managed to hurt me and warm my heart equal ammounts. I knew it was hard thinking of me as a friend, the way I was. The way I'd always be... _But... it isn't my problem, right? It's hers. _I tried to block out the uncomfortable feeling, failing miserably.

I didn't even look at Ayame, only walked over to my bed, lied down and hid under the cover. The soft fabric felt nice against my skin.

"I still think you have potential. Not just in magic. You're smart and pretty, only your attitude against the world distracts from that. You have the potential to be both an amazing angel and an amazing human," Amaya said. "Sorry... I got a little carried away." I still stayed silent. Compliments didn't really have an effect on me, well, sometimes they made me feel a little uncomfortable. I didn't like that much attention paid to me.

"Uh... sorry," I quietly said. "About... you know, everything."

"Don't say it if you don't mean it," Ayame said with a soft chuckle. "I can tell you don't."

"Sorry..." I said again, this time meaning it a little more. "Can I ask you something?" I suddenly said, getting up into a sitting position, the cover pressed against my chest. It was a wise decision, since I felt the towel slowly sliding down my back.

"What is it?" Ayame asked with raised eyebrows.

"Are you... regretting it?" Ayame blinked. "Do you want to go back?" I didn't turn my head to look at her, but I knew her smile was swept away into nothingness. She didn't say a word, only walked over to her table and sat down to study. Silence fell. _I knew she wouldn't say... After all, I'm the same as her._

I lied back on the bed and began staring at the sealing. The problems I currently had were putting a weight on my heart, each one more than the other. I tried listing them all so I could maybe think of solving them. Studying. Regrets. Kiss. Unfamiliarity. Gina. The studying could be done later, there was still time for the finals (if I decided to stay instead of running). The regrets were a long-time problem, there was no way of solving it in one single swoop. The kiss I didn't want to think about. The unfamiliarity of my current situation could be solved by making the unknown known or closing it away... I hadn't yet decided which I would do.

Then there was Gina. I sighed. That would be my first problem to solve, I supposed. It wasn't an easy one, though – it was Gina we were talking about, after all. I had no clue how I would convince her to give up on Maou, or if I even could. I was stuck solving a love triangle I wasn't even a part of. _How annoying_, I thought as I turned to face the wall. It wasn't until then that I realized I was still holding my flip phone. I looked at it, opened up it's lid and looked at the text again.

**1 received call(s): Hanzo Urushihara**

* * *

**[A/N]**

**So, I was talking with one of my friends today. She writes fanfiction and has been doing so for a lot longer than I, and she gave me critique on my story. She told me that it can get a little boring at points, and I completely agree. On my defence, I do think it's sort of hard to make the life of an introvert interesting. No? Just me? Oh... well. I'm doing my best at spicing up my writing, taking more risks and such (I'm still a little unsure with my writing since I haven't published anything before and I'm scared of accidentally falling into a bunch of clichés or writing things too unlikely to happen.)**

**Anyway, my author's notes are getting too lenghty. I really should try and learn to compress my text better. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter (sorry about the flashback)! Remember to follow, favorite and review (pretty please?) Thanks for reading~!**


	19. Chapter 18 - To class and dust

**[A/N]**

**New chapter! Are you happy? I am. I had a good time writing this one. ^^ Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 18 – To class and dust

I walked down the street in brown shorts and a black top. My white and green hair was open and over my shoulders, the little black bow tied to them as usual. I corrected the position of the black bag on my shoulder, since it was getting pretty heavy after walking for a while.

I sighed heavily when I finally saw the light yellow house in my field of vision. It was in a nice neighbourhood, surrounded by other big and otherwise expensive-looking places. I didn't really care where I lived as long as I had internet connection, but Ayame always seemed to be drooling over these kinds of houses.

I made my way through the black metal gate blocking my way to the house's well-kept garden. I walked through the stone path to the door and after a moment of hesitating, pressed the doorbell. I shifted my weight from one leg to another, trying to calm my nervous thoughts about what would happen next.

I didn't have to wait for long before I heard footsteps nearing the door and I stepped aside as it opened.

"Hello, I'm here for Gina," I greeted the woman with a slender build and shoulder-lenght, black hair.

"Oh, Wakahisa-san! Come on in," the woman said and moved out of my way to let me in. She looked very much like her daughter, if you didn't include the difference in hair colour. Her eyes were the beautiful light green and blue that Gina's were, she was tall and naturally thin and her smile was identical as well.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile. I stepped inside the spacy, lightly coloured house and immediately took off my sneakers. I put them aside with the other shoes and took a step closer to the staircase.

"Gina, you have a visitor!" the woman yelled upstairs after closing the door. Then she turned back to me with a wide smile. "So how've you been, Wakahisa-san?"

"Ah, just fine..." I awkwardly said and rubbed the back of my head. I hated talking to Gina's parents, as nice as they were. It was still too much social interaction.

"Your and Gina's finals are coming. Hope you've studied hard for them," the woman said, obviously having asked the previous question just to get to this topic. "Our Gina's been slacking off a bit lately, even after I told her we'd be cutting down her allowance if she didn't pass. Just between us, I think she might be crushing on a boy... Oh, did your parents ever do that when you still lived with them? They live outside of Tokyo, right?" _Gina-chan, save me! _

"Uh, hmm, yeah, they do..." I stumbled with my words, trying to come up with a proper response. I was so glad when I heard running footsteps from upstairs and soon saw Gina coming down the stairs with a smile.

"Hey, Hana-chan! What's up?" she asked as cheery as ever. Her blue hair was tied on a ponytail on the left side of hear head and she wore a blue shirt and white skinny jeans that contrasted well with her skin.

"Have you cleaned your room, Gina?" her mother asked and crossed her arms, her light blue shirt waving into motion. "You wouldn't want Wakahisa-san to walk into that mess, right?"

"Trust me, mom, her room is way worse," Gina said, obviously holding back a laugh.

"Hey! It's clean at the moment...! Clean...er... at the moment," I said with a small huff.

"Still, you can't avoid your chores forever. You know I have a green belt on karate," the woman said with a challenging smile.

"Oh, is that a threat I hear?" Gina smirked and squeezed her hands into fists. "Because I'm willing to listen!" she yelled, sounding like a clichéd manga hero. "Bring it, mom!"

"No, wait! Not me in the-" I couldn't finish the sentence before a kick was thrown towards me and I barely dodged it by throwing myself on the floor, catching my body with my hands. The move demanded some muscle-strenght I really didn't have at the moment, but I managed to pull it off without embarrassing myself too much.

"Sorry, Hana-chan! I wasn't aiming for you," Gina pleaded and offered me a hand to pull me up. I glared at her and pushed myself up without her help.

"Ever since you started taking karate lessons this house has been a dangerous warzone," I sighed. "Cut it out already."

"I'm sorry," Gina's mom chuckled, "I didn't mean for our training session to start yet."

"Ah, eh, sorry, Matsuoka-san," I pleaded, not having noticed I was being disrespectful.

"No, it's fine. You kids go upstairs, I have to go pay the bills anyway," Gina's mom said and left the room with a smile. The word "kids" really annoyed me for some reason.

"I'll beat you next time!" Gina yelled after her.

"Sure you will, honey," came the response from a nearby room. Gina giggled to herself before turning back to me again.

"Come upstairs, Hana-chan," she said and started making her way up the stairs again. I nodded and followed her. "Since when have you had such great reflexes?" she asked while we walked towards her room.

"Uh... since forever, I suppose," I said when we reached her door. She went through first and I closed the door behind us.

"Really? I haven't noticed," she said and threw herself on her wide single bed. The bed wasn't the only thing that was large in the room. It was overall very spacious and the light-coloured walls made it look even more so. There were two windows on two separate walls – since it was a corner room – and orange drapes covering them. "She seems nice, but she can get really annoying after a while."

"I know," I replied. "I've been here before, you know." The drapes weren't the only colorful thing in the room. All the textures; bed covers, carpet and chair coverings were all very brightly colored, like Gina's personality. The furniture were all made of either black metal or light brown wood with black metal detailing.

The room was very clean when compared to mine and Ayame's room at it's messiest, but it was still noticable that the room wasn't in completely neat condition. There were school books all over the place, a few small piles of clothes in the corners and even some trash on different surfaces. There was also an anime poster that was half-fallen off the wall.

"You haven't visited in a few weeks. I was beginning to miss you," Gina complained, rising into a sitting position. I gave her a smile and placed my bag down next to her bed.

"Yeah, sorry. I've been busy being an introvert," I exclaimed and sat next to her on the bed. "Besides, we've been talking online and at school."

"It's not the same thing!" she exclaimed. "I wouldn't say you're a total introvert... I mean, you do have Ayame-chan," Gina said and poked me on the shoulder.

"It's a dormitory. I really don't have a choice," I said and shrugged my shoulders. It had been a little hard getting used to living with another person at first, but after some time and limits set I got used to it. "Is your dad out on a job again?" I asked, having noticed Gina's father wasn't there. He was a pilot, so he left out on jobs for long periods of time.

"Yeah, he is," Gina hummed and laid sideways on the bed. I turned to face her. "So, what did you wanna talk about?" she asked with a more serious tone and expression.

"You knew why I came here, didn't you?" I sighed and pulled my feet on the bed, taking a more comfortable position. She nodded.

"I bet Chiho-chan came to speak with you, right?" she said with a light chuckle. It was my turn to nod.

"She did... you realize you're both putting me into a very uncomfortable position, yeah?" I coldly said. "I really don't know if I should be a part of this all."

"Bullshit! I'm not putting you into this position – I don't want you to take part in this either. It's Chiho-chan who asked you to do this, not me," Gina argued. I had to admit she had a point, but there was no point in backing off anymore.

"It doesn't matter right now," I said, trying to take the conversation into a direction I was pleased with. "What matters is that you're chasing after a guy your friend is chasing after as well. That's breaking the girl-code." Oh, the girl-code – how much fun I had making fun of it with Ayame in the past, but here I now was, using it to my defence. _I just love irony._

"Seriously?" Gina huffed, obviously disappointed in my performance. "Are you taking her side in this? You barely even know her," she said. Her performance didn't really move me either. We both sounded like bickering teenage girls. _Oh, wait..._

"Are you that jealous of her?" I asked with my monotone voice and narrowed my eyes at her.

"I'm not jealous of her and you know that. You just sound like our friendship is completely meaningless to you when compared to yours and hers," Gina said and crossed her arms, looking away from me.

"That's called being jealous, Gina-chan," I sighed. "I just think it would be fair for you to let her go after Maou-san... she's in love with him, after all."

"Since when do you care about fair? No, scratch that – _define_ fair, since that's what you would make _me_ do in a situation like this," she said with a hostile tone. "How does she have more right to go after Maou-san than me? Because I met him later? That doesn't seem too fair to me."

"No, I guess not..." I said, keeping a pause. _Why am I doing this again? _"Still, Gina-chan, I think you're going a little too far with this. You went over to _her house_ and told her you want to be _friends_ with her. At least be honest about your rivalry!"

"That might not have been the smartest thing for me to do, but I do like her as a person," Gina said and got up into a sitting position, looking me in the eyes. The eye-contact made me feel slightly uncomfortable, even if it was with Gina. "I... I really do have a crush on Maou-san. Do you know how long it's been since I had a crush on anyone?" I stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. "Two years. It's been two years since I had a crush on any real human being." I looked away in discomfort when she referred to Maou as a "human being." "I want to go after him."

"So you're ready to break Chiho-chan's heart if you manage to make Maou-san yours?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I believed she could do it, but there were various reasons to convince her to stop. First, of course, was the fact that Maou was a demon lord. Even if she succeeded making Maou hers I really wouldn't call it a victory – but then again, I was going after Hanzo as well... I flinched when my thoughts went to the fallen angel.

"Hana-chan, are you alright?" Gina asked, obviously having noticed my distraction. She was quick to notice how I was feeling and I really didn't enjoy it. It always gave away my cover. "Has something happened that I should know about?" I shook my head.

"No, it's fine – back to Chiho-chan. So, you're not gonna stop?" I quickly changed back the topic so I could brush off the thoughts of Hanzo.

"No," Gina simply said and gave me a sad smile. "Not in a million years."

"_Nothing_ can change your mind? Are you sure?" I asked and grabbed her hands in my own. I knew I only promised Chiho to try, but for some reason I felt heavy in my heart. _Damn feelings... this isn't like me at all. _I tried my best to reason the situation.

"I'm sure," she said and pulled her hands away. Her smile turned into a blank expression. "We should probably not talk for a few days. I need time to cool off." I gave her a silent nod.

"I'll be going then," I said. I stood up and grabbed my bag from the floor before I left the room.

* * *

After hasty goodbyes with Gina's mother I found myself walking back towards Sasahaki North. My thoughts were all mixed up and my heart was pounding. I couldn't quite grasp on what was wrong with me. My chest felt hot and it was like there was a lump in my throat. I arranged my thoughts one by one and took out my phone to distract myself.

Only it didn't work. The minute I opened the lid of my phone I saw the familiar text popping up on my screen.

**1 received call(s): Hanzo Urushihara**

My thoughts scattered all over the place again. My hands were shaking. I flipped the phone shut and squeezed it in my hand while walking. _What is wrong with me? _I thought, my pace slowing down without me realizing. _What is this pain in my chest? _My steps slowed down until I came to a stop. I guessed I'd taken the wrong turn somewhere, since the neighbourhood looked a little odd to me.

Then I heard an engine sound heading towards me. It became louder and louder until it suddenly slowed down and stopped next to me. I reluctantly turned to look towards it.

It was a dark blue car. It was cheap and smallish, but seemed well-kept. It was clean and it looked like the wheel rims had been recently changed. The back windows were darkened to a level of creepy. I looked over to the driver's spot only to take a sudden step back. The person behind the wheel opened the window on my side and gave a wide smile.

"Well, what a nice day it is, hmm?" Sariel spoke with a syrupy tone. "What's a lonely lady like you doing out at this time?"

"It's five o'clock," I said, already tired of his attitude and slipped my phone into my bag.

"You look lost. Why don't you get in the car and I'll drive you home~" he suggested.

"No, thank you," I said, making a denied-motion with my arms. His way of offering help was way creepy. I couldn't trust him even if he was an archangel. He pursed his lips in annoyment.

"I don't think you understood what I meant," he said with a smile. "Get. In the car. And that was an order," he said with narrowed eyes. I flinched at his words – he had figured out I was an angel. I took a look at the tarmac under my feet and gritted my teeth together before entering the car.

"Well, now then~" he said, his smile returning. "Where is it I need to drive you?" I wasn't sure if I should give him my address, but decided to trust him. _Stupid decision_, I thought when making it.

"You know where Sasahaki North is?" I asked with a sigh.

"I do," he simply replied before turning the car around and heading for the school. There was an awkward silence for a while before he spoke again. "So, I take it you survived by making yourself a student? Hmmn~" he said. "Your face is somehow familiar to me. Have we met before?"

"We met over at SFC. I was with the one who dove under the table," I replied.

"Oh, yes... That was Audiana, wasn't she?" Sariel chuckled and that made me turn my head towards him in a quick motion. "Quite an amusing performance, if I may say so. I didn't say anything, since I didn't want to start a scene." My mouth was agape for a moment.

"You knew about her? Uh..." the words escaped through my lips. "Did you only now find out that I was an angel, too?"

"I did, even though I had my suspicions before. You really should learn to hide your magic better. I could sense it from a kilometer away," Sariel smirked in an annoying manner.

"Err..." I was speechless, so the car became silent. I listened to the engine humm for a short while. "What are you gonna do with me now?"

"With you? Oh, I'm not interested in you, even if your beauty is almost worthy of my attention," he said in that syrupy tone again. I backed away from him with a disgusted expression. "And what I mean is I'm not interested in you personally, I'm interested in how you and Audiana ended up in Tokyo. You're both war deserters, eh?" I flinched. "Not that I care about that anymore."

"I, uh... we used a portal. Obviously..." I struggled to get my answer together.

"So you two were able to create a portal like that? Haha! I wouldn't be surprised if two angels of Audiana's level would've done it together, but I've never even _seen_ you before we came here. Ah, that raises another question: Who exactly are you?"

"I was a flier in Ayam- Audiana's group. I hadn't been in the army for too long before we left," I spoke. I didn't think I'd be in this situation again, so it all confused me.

"Is that so? You have much more magic power than just any flier would have," he said, mostly mumbling the last sentence. "We're here," he said as he stopped the car. I looked through the window to see my school building. I would've left the car if Sariel suddenly hadn't turned off the engine.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm still curious about some things... like where you got your magic," Sariel said. "You definitely didn't have your powers when you were at Sentucky Fried Chicken. So somewhere between now and then you gained celestial magic. Since I wasn't your contact and the only other celestial magic users I know are living in Tokyo are Emilia the Hero and Crestia Bell... you must have met them," he deducted with a sly smile. "That means you've most likely also met Satan and the two generals he has under his wing." My hands squeezed into fists as I feared what me might say next.

"Is this the part where you tell me to spy on them?" I asked with an odd anger welling inside me. I watched as the archangel next to me burst into sudden laughter.

"Ahahahahah! No, by all means, no!" Sariel said. "I don't care about what they're doing! All I care about is my lovely Kisaki-san! She is all I need and ever will need in this world or any other. I have no will to go after Satan anymore. Hahaha! What a ridiculous thought!" I blinked several times in confusion, trying to think of something to say.

"Eh... then why...?"

"It's only natural for me to keep an eye on possible threaths, right? I'm not an idiot. Sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry. If the Devil's army grows too strong I have to pay mind to it – I am an archangel after all. It might be dangerous for me and my love towards Kisaki-san," Sariel chuckled.

"Is it smart for you to blab everything to me?" I questioned and wrinkled my eyebrows.

"Oh, it's fine. After all, I can just tell you to..." he paused for dramatic effect, "...shut the hell up." He glared at me with a dangerous expression and I found myself holding my breath. "Besides, it's not like Satan really cares about me at this point, anyway~" he chirped, reverting back to his wide, creepy smile.

"Is that so?" I simply replied, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Hmm, I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" he asked, not waiting for me to reply. "Ah, anyway – that was all I wanted to talk about. Now you should get out so I can go find my darling Kisaki. She should be at the grocery store around this time..." _He's a stalker?! _I did as he said and stepped out of the car. Just before I closed the door, he stopped it and faced me one more time. "Maybe I'll see you again, dear." After that he pulled the door closed and drove off.

I just stood there for a moment, trying to process what had happened. Sariel, one of the archangels, had just found out about my existence. Why did I suddenly feel like the whole world was staring at me? I headed over to the dormitory immediately when I noticed a person passing by looking at me funny.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**I had fun writing Sariel. XD Hope you had fun reading! **

**I'm gonna stop telling you when the next chapter will be up since I obviously can't keep my promises anymore. ;_; But no worries, I'll update as often as I always have! Anyway, please follow, favorite and *sparkles* review *sparkles*! I'd really like to know what you guys think.**


	20. Chapter 19 - Distractions are temporary

**[A/N]**

**Here is the next chapter. This a sort of a transition chapter with moments from the course of about two weeks thrown together. It can get a little boring, so you can kind of skim over this chapter without a bad conscience. ^^'**

**xblackrosefirex: Thanks so much for your review! It's so cool to hear people like this. *u* And no, she can't avoid him forever... :)**

* * *

Chapter 19 – Distractions are temporary

I lied on my stomach and stared at the pile of books I'd constructed in front of me. I leaned my head against my palms and sighed, taking a quick glance at Ayame on the other side of the room. She was focused on going through her own notes and school books. _But I don't wannaa..._

"Hana-chan, if you're actually going to study, just do it," Ayame said with a lenient attitude and turned to face me from her desk. _Shut up... I don't wanna. _I huffed in annoyment. Why did the task of picking up a book suddenly feel unattainable? I looked at the pile with a frown. "Fine then, do whatever you want. Luckily I'm not the one receiving your grades," Ayame sighed and turned back to her books.

I continued staring at my books for a moment before I finally reached towards them with an unsatisfied growl.

* * *

For once I was actually studying. School had ended last Friday and there was only a week of studying time left before the finals. I decided that if I wanted to pass, I needed to at least skim through the books and the few notes I'd made.

The whole following week went by without me even noticing. The one thing I did notice, though, was that studying offered me something to drown my thoughts into. It was a great distraction from everything that'd been happening around me for the past weeks. On that level I actually found it enjoyable. I knew that after a while all those things wouldn't feel so terrible anymore.

After the school had ended I'd even found the courage to look at my phone without shivering and clicking away the text that was haunting me. I'd never thought that _school_ would be the one thing to save me from my misery. I found myself not only studying by myself but also with Ayame, Nobuko and Etsuko. I still wasn't on proper speaking terms with Gina, so I avoided studying together when she was there and I supposed she did the same for me. I decided that I'd talk to her after the finals.

The week was nearing it's end and I had improved in every subject remarkably. I was currently sitting at my computer desk, only my computer was pushed away into a corner of the table and philosophy books had taken it's place. I was going through pages of one of them when Ayame suddenly spoke:

"Hana-chan, can we take a pause?" she asked from her desk and I turned to look at her.

"Uh, sure. Let's," I said and closed the book I was reading. "What is it?" I deducted she had something to discuss about since she was wearing her serious expression.

"We need to move out before the exams start," she said and made her way to my side of the room.

"That's right... any luck on the job department?" I asked after suddenly remembering our divided jobs.

"I have a couple of places that are currently hiring. We need to go through those as soon as possible," she said and sat down on my bed. "What about the apartment situation? I trust you took care of your assingment."

"About that..." I chuckled and awkwardly scratched my head.

"WHAT?! YOU FORGOT?!" Ayame screamed in horror.

"No! I was just kidding!" I exclaimed with my hands as a shield. "I remembered!" Ayame gave a relieved sigh.

"You just scared the heck outta me," she said.

"Sorry," I said and grabbed my laptop from the table. I took off the power cord and walked over to my bed with the computer, sitting next to Ayame. I opened the lid and found certain pages from my bookmarks.

"Wow, you're actually taking this seriously... I'm proud of you, Hana-chan," Ayame said and patted my head like I was a dog.

"Ugh, yeah, whatever..." I said and handed the computer to Ayame, who looked through the apartments I'd chosen. "Those are the places in Tokyo we can currently afford to live in." Ayame seemed to be deep in thought.

"There aren't many places here... most of them are pretty far away, too," she said with a sigh. She stopped for a moment when she noticed I even had Villa Rosa in one of the tabs. "Looks like Villa Rosa is the only one nearby... there is that one apartment close to Sasahaki North, but by the looks of it needs some renovations that are way out of our reach."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing," I said.

"You sure you didn't overlook any places nearby because you wanna live next to you-know-who?" Ayame joked with a devious expression.

"No... if anything, I looked for places that are especially far away just for that reason..." I said and looked away from the blonde. It was partially true that I didn't want to have anything to do with the demons' right now, but then again...

"This is a tough decision... Should we really move far away or across the hall from Satan and his generals? I mean, we did promise to help Yusa-san with keeping an eye on them," Ayame sighed and leaned slightly back, taking a look at the sealing.

"She did restore our magic... I'm thankful for that," I said and looked at my hands from instinct.

"I know you are," Ayame said, looking at me with a smile. "Well, I guess it's decided then."

"EEEEHH?! Just like that?!" I exclaimed.

"Uh..." Ayame looked at me with a questioning look. "It was your suggestion, wasn't it? The rent is cheap, it's location is surprisingly good considering, you know, and we would be in a perfect position to help the Hero. What's there to complain about?" When she presented it like that, Ayame had a point.

"Hmm..." I thought about it for a moment. "Should we arrange to check out the apartment, then?" I asked with a smile. Ayame returned my smile and found her phone to call the number in the notice of sale. I couldn't help but let a little sigh escape once Ayame pressed the "call"-button. _That's it for avoiding _him_, huh?_

* * *

We'd walked over to Villa Rosa Sasazuka and I'd been panicking the whole time. Even when we finally got to the old building I was hiding behind Ayame just in case I'd run into the person I really didn't want to talk to at the moment. She was getting fed up with my behaviour – it showed clearly – but didn't say anything about it.

"Here we are," she stated before heading up the stairs. I followed her and looked around myself somewhat paranoid. We went into the hallway and Ayame stopped to the first door at the right. _Wait... here? _I looked at the apartment number. 204. I'd heard the number before, but suddenly it didn't seem right – the apartments 201 and 202 were taken, so logically the room 203 would be next, right? I looked at Ayame with a confused expression.

"Why number 204?"

"Only now you notice? Seriously?" Ayame sighed and took the key assigned to her to open the door. "The landlady told me that there's some problems with the heating of 203 right now, so if we wanted to move immediately, we'd have to take 204. It seemed a little odd to me too..." she said.

"Yeah..." I said while looking at the door across from Kamazuki's apartment.

"Well, let's-" Ayame was interrupted by a door opening from behind us. Ashiya entered the hallway without completely closing the door behind him. I didn't fully realize he was there until he turned to look at us, making me cower behind Ayame.

"Honda-san... Wakahisa-san, you haven't been visiting in some time," Ashiya said. "I have to say I'm was surprised to know you were here." My cheeks became flushed when I realized Hanzo would now know I was behind his door.

"Huh? How did you even know we were here...?" Ayame asked.

"Urushihara noticed you through the web camera..." Ashiya said. "But... wait. You're going to... 204?" he seemed taken aback when he realized Ayame was holding the door handle of the apartment across the hall from theirs.

"Yeah, we're not here to visit you," Ayame declared with a wide smile. "I wasn't going to say anything yet, but you're going to get two new neighbours," she continued. Ashiya froze.

"...excuse me for a second," Ashiya said and retreated back into his apartment. The was unclear gabbling behind the door and we saw some movement through the window of 201. We stood there in complete silence until Ashiya stepped out again, this time with Maou.

"I heard you're moving across the hall from us. I guess we should welcome you into the building," Maou said with his MgRonald's smile. Ashiya seemed very displeased.

"So where's your luggage? You're not moving without it, I assume..." he forced himself to speak.

"We're only checking out the apartment at the moment. Our stuff will be brought after we've confirmed everything's good with this place," Ayame said and shrugged her shoulders.

"Makes sense," Maou said. "Do you want to stop for tea after you've looked through the place?" I flinched behind Ayame.

"No, we have to arrange the moving as soon as possible. But thanks for the invitation," Ayame replied with a smile.

"Well, there's still time after you've moved in, hmm?" Maou chuckled. "We don't want to keep you here, so we'll just see you another time," he continued and opened the door behind him. Even though it was only breafly, I saw Hanzo sitting inside in front of his computer. Only, he wasn't looking at his computer. He was looking at me.

The both of us flinched, blushed and looked away from each other immediately after locking eyes. Maou seemed to be first looking at Hanzo and then at me, a smile popping up on his face again. He waved before entering the apartment. Ashiya gave us a look before leaving the hallway and making his way outside.

"That was..." Ayame said a little flustered.

"I'm just glad it's over now..." I said with a sigh and looked at the door. "Let's go inside, shall we?" Ayame nodded and opened the door all the way. We entered the apartment and closed the door behind us.

The apartment was the size of six tatami-mats, like the demons'. The kitchen was the mirror image from their place, also under the window leading to the hallway. While the bathroom door was also on the same place as it was in 201, the closet was on the opposite side of the room. It was right next to the door, creating a small recess in the wall next to the balcony door. The difference could be because there might've been some important pipes or electric cords in the place where the closet was supposed to be. It could also be because of renovations made by the previous tenants or just the preference of the ones who had the place built. Luckily it wasn't that important.

Ayame walked deeper into the apartment and looked through every corner in case of faults or something else that would lower the value of the apartment even more. We'd learned at school and from the internet to always make sure we weren't being tricked and Ayame had taken the advice to heart. I sighed and made my way to the window to look out. Unlike the demons and Kamazuki, we had a view to the back yard. I didn't mind, since it was actually a fairly enjoyable way to look at.

Ayame walked past me and onto the balcony, checking it was perfectly intact and that the paint job hadn't worn off too much. She also checked the outside of the apartment from that spot and then walked inside with a wide smile.

"Should we buy a high or a low table?" she guestioned, her mood suddenly risen.

"You didn't find anything worrying, then?" I asked with a small smile. "We're actually moving here?"

"It seems that way. Do you think blue drapes would be nice here?" she said, changing the subject to her liking.

"You're really into this, huh?" I sighed. "We should make the contract before anything else, Ayame-chan."

"Wow, Hana-chan being serious again~. This is truly a rare sight," she said. "I haven't forgotten how this world works yet, don't worry. I'm just glad we're half-done with out problems... even if this place isn't a mansion," she sighed.

"Yeah, only a workplace is missing. Hope you've really managed to find us some places."

"Umm, about that..."

"That won't work on me, Ayame-chan," I said and folded my arms. "I know you're responsible."

"Ah, it was worth a try," she said and shrugged. I giggled at her. "We should head back," she said and we exited the apartment.

* * *

It took some time to make the contracts and arrangements needed for moving into the apartment, but we were ready to move the weekend before our first exam. We packed everything into carboard boxes and cleaned the room, leaving only the original furniture: the beds, desks, the bookcase and the closet.

We stood there, in the middle of our old room in our cleaning clothes, waiting for the room to be checked before we could take our leave. The van moving our few things was already outside waiting for us. We took a deep breath almost simultaniously and looked around in the room.

"It looks so empty right now," Ayame said.

"Yeah..." I replied. "And so clean, too. It's like it's not the same room at all anymore."

"Mmh..." Ayame looked at me with a smile on her face. "I'm gonna miss this school." I didn't get to reply because the person going through the rooms got there.

* * *

"So you went through everything with the landlady?" I asked Ayame, who was next to me in the back of the van. Our stuff didn't take too much room, so we got a ride from the movers.

"Of course I did. Oh, and we even made an agreement that we could leave this and the next month's pay to the third month, since we don't currently have jobs. She's a really nice woman," the blonde explained and leaned against the wall. "We still have the water and electricity bills to worry about, though..."

"Not to forget our Wi-Fi and phone bills," I said with a chuckle. That's when the van stopped. We waited for a moment for the guy driving the van to open the back and start taking out our stuff. We offered a hand, since it was our stuff, and piled it together on the lawn.

"Are you sure you can't help us carry it inside~?" Ayame asked with a painfully flirty tone and shifted her shoulders in a helpless manner.

"Ah, I'm really sorry, miss, but I'm already running late for another job. My schedule is packed," the man spoke before heading over to the front of the van.

"Oh well, I guess it can't be helped then," Ayame said and waved to the guy. He got into the van and drove off while we looked at the boxes laid in front of us. "Guess we gotta get to carrying." Ayame got one of the boxes and turned to look at me when she realized I was wearing a smug smile. "What?"

"I didn't know you could use that approach as well," I said.

"Ugh, just shut up and carry this," she said and shoved the box she was holding to me. She took another one for herself and we headed for the apartment together. We were just about to enter the stairs when the door opened and Maou stepped outside.

"So, it's really true? You're moving into the building?" he asked.

"You thought we were lying?" Ayame said with a raised brow.

"No, it's not like that..." Maou said and rubbed the back of his head. "Do you need help with those?"

"If you don't mind," I said from behind Ayame.

"Not at all. Besides, you can do a favor to me in return sometime, hmm?" Maou suggested and took the box Ayame was holding.

"Unlikely," Ayame chuckled and we followed him inside.

"Taking a page of Emi's book, huh?" Maou frowned as Ayame opened the door to the apartment. Me and Maou took our boxes inside and then we headed out to get the rest. Maou stopped in the middle of the staircase like he was just realizing something.

"Oh, Ashiya isn't home, but I could try to force Urushihara to help with-"

"NO!" I suddenly yelled and almost dropped the box I was currently lifting. I cleared my throat before continuing. "I-it's fine, there aren't that many boxes anyway." Maou blinked before smiling again.

"That's true. We can manage," he said and grabbed one of the boxes.

* * *

After all the boxes were carried inside we took another moment to look around the apartment. It wasn't large, but at least it held more room than our dorm room.

"Do you guys wanna stop for a drink before you unpack everything?" Maou, who was standing nearest to the door, asked.

"No, I'm sorry. We still need to head out and buy some things and I really want to get everything out of the way before resting," Ayame said.

"Ah, that's right. Do you have the money, since you were only high school students before?" Maou asked.

"We have some savings for this particular occurance," I said and leaned against the closet doors. "No worries."

"I remember you saying you had part-time jobs before," Maou said with a smile. "Just wanted to make sure you had everything under control."

"Everything is perfectly under our control," Ayame sighed. "Remember that we're not actual high school students, but angels from Heaven."

"So is Urushihara, but all he can do is complain," Maou shot with a confident smirk.

"Touché," Ayame replied with a light chuckle. "Anyway, we're going to head out now," she said and closed in on the door, causing Maou to move into the hallway.

"You can stop by our apartment whenever you feel like it," he said probably out of politeness and entered the room 201.

"Thanks," Ayame replied. I grabbed our bags and stepped into the hallway as well. Maou gave us a quick wave before closing the door behind him.

* * *

Me and Ayame went out and bought ourselves some necessary things like dishes, cutlery, a microwave and two futons. We also purchased a smallish, low table (because it was cheap) and Ayame even wanted to buy new drapes, but I told her we should leave stuff like that for another day.

Once we made it home we started cleaning the place throughoutly. We also went through all the boxes and set the things we brought and the things we'd bought to their rightful places. We set the futons to the space between the closet and the balcony door, since there was a perfect recess in the wall for it. The low table we set near the kitchen, a little closer to the corner than at 201, because there wasn't a closet in the way and because it looked more balanced with the room shape and the futons.

The first thing I did after everything was done was plugging in my computer and making myself comfortable on the futon nearest to the balcony door. Ayame frowned upon my laziness, but let it go since she was tired as well.

"This closet is way bigger than our old one~!" Ayame exclaimed happily when she looked at the empty space left in the closet.

* * *

The next week passed quicker than it should have. I didn't even notice all the exams going by, even though I probably should have. I felt like I did fine in most subjects, too. Philosophy gave me some issues, since I couldn't remember most of the stuff I'd read about it. I had problems with remembering some things from music, too.

During the exam period we were completely focused and after every exam we felt our anxiousness growing. Ayame was much more worried about her grades than I was, but I still felt the occasional sting when thinking about the anwers I'd put down on the paper.

Since we were so focused on school we didn't hold anything special to welcome us into the building. We got an occasional visit from Kamazuki, who'd been glad to hear we moved into the same building as her, but even then we weren't much entertainment for her. She picked up on our constant studying pretty quickly and she said she wouldn't come over until our exams were done.

Then, finally, the day came. The day that the results to the tests would be announced. To everyone's surprise, I passed every single exam. I even got fairly good grades from psychology and English. The success in psychology was probably because I didn't have much other choice than to study in class (since I didn't have any friends there). The English was easily explained by the fact that most of the internet was in English.

When it came to Ayame, she did much better than just passed. She actually made it to the ten best scores in some subjects. She must've studied even harder than I knew, since she was set up for failure without the knowledge from lower grades.

After the exam results had been announched was the graduation ceremony. It was very much like all the ceremonies I'd learned about on the internet, but it was still memorable. Some people were in tears, even. Throught the whole ceremony there was a wide smile on Ayame's face I couldn't quite grasp on.

Once the ceremony was done most of the students went to have an after party. We knew what that meant: lots of underaged drinking. We didn't want to attend even though we didn't know if any of our friends were going to. I didn't like big crowds and Ayame didn't like breaking the law, so neither of us had any reason to. I did suggest that we'd use our magic to trick someone in buying us alcohol, but Ayame was strongly against it. She didn't want to put any random person at risk of being arrested.

After arguing a little with her we did talk about tricking the person working behind the counter at a liquir store to selling us something. Ayame agreed after hesitating, but said it would be a one time thing. And so we got drunk in our new apartment, celebrating our success in life. Things were going into a fairly good direction at the moment.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Soo, after this chapter some interesting things are gonna happen again. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter even with the tons of text without much dialogue.**

**You don't really need to know about this, but I'll say it anyway. I'm gonna start going through the chapters from the beginning and correct all the grammar and spelling errors and other awkwardness I can find. When I started writing this story my skills in writing in English weren't as high as they are now. I've improved in this language a lot in the past few months and it's actually quite cool.**

**I've been reading the Hataraku Maou-sama! novels online and thinking about if I should rewrite this to match 'em better in the future. It's likely I won't, but still. It's too bad that I can't find it translated past the fifth volume! ._.**

**I also thought about which fanfictions I'm gonna write in the future. I'm gonna make a list on my profile, if you're interested.**

**Love you all, love everyone who follows, favorites and/or reviews extra-much! Thanks for reading!**


	21. Chapter 20 - Untrustable heart

**[A/N]**

**I'm here again! Sorry I haven't posted the whole week. x_x I have fixed up some of the first chapters, though, so there's that. I'm gonna continue fixing them up once in a while. Reeally hope you'll like this chapter! :)**

**IRL FRIENDS: Hey.**

* * *

Chapter 20 – Untrustable heart

"You have to help me, Hana-chan."

"No."

"No, you can't say no – you _have to_ help me."

"No I don't."

"You do. I'm not the only tenant in this apartment. You need to do your part of the housework."

"But I don't wanna~!" I yelled from my futon.

"I don't care if "you don't wanna." I'm not going to wash the dishes," Ayame said and leaned her hips against one of the kitchen counters. The sink was filled with a pile of dirty dishes. "I did it last time."

"But dishes are disgusting," I complained. "Can't we go back to cardboard plates and plastic spoons?" Then I turned to look at my computer screen again.

"No, we're not in high school anymore. Now get up and do your part of the work," Ayame said as she strode across the room to me.

"Isn't there anything else I could do...? Like, take out the trash or vacuum or something. I hate food residue on the plates," I said and sat up.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Ayame asked and sighed. "I already vacuumed _and_ took out the trash – you saw me do it. And you know how much I hate cleaning, too."

"No, but seriously, I don't want to touch the dishwater. Please, give me anything else to do," I pleaded. "Except for cleaning the bathroom," I quickly added. Ayame gave a defeated sigh and looked around in the room.

"Well, it's better for you to at least do something rather than nothing at all," she said and walked over to the laundry basket next to the closet. I watched with curiosity when she came back to me with it and shoved it in my lap. "I guess you could do the laundry. I'll handle the dishes while you're gone."

"Hmm..." I didn't like the idea of leaving the apartment, since I was still avoiding a certain person, but it seemed like the better option when compared to washing dishes. Besides, _he_ didn't like to leave the apartment either.

"Go already," Ayame groaned as she made her way to the kitchen.

* * *

I exited the apartment 204 with a somewhat paranoid look in my eyes. I held the laundry basket tightly against my chest as I closed the door behind me as quietly as I could and snuck past the apartment across the hall. Some chatter could be heard to the hallway.

"...Urushihara, would you stop playing with your computer!"

"What else would you have me do?"

"Maou-sama, we need to come up with punishments for his laziness."

"Hmm, what if we cut off the internet connection?"

"W-wait a minute there!"

"If you don't start helping around, we'll..."

I stopped listening at that point, having realized I was standing still next to their window. I shook my head and continued my journey towards the laundry room.

* * *

"How do I do this again...?" I mumbled to myself as I tried to figure out the washing machine in front of me. The laundry room was small and old, just like the rest of the building. The four washing machines that were there were all covered in a thin layer of dust, but I didn't care enough to clean it off. The light made an annoying flicker. I sighed as I reluctantly began separating the laundry.

It was silent for a while and I focused all of my attention to the task at hand. It was nice to do something simple for a while and just be. Well, according to Ayame I did nothing _but_ just be, but I thought scrolling through the internet counted as something.

I got lost in my few thoughts for a while and almost didn't notice the footsteps nearing the laundry room. I raised my eyes from the laundry to the door, expecting Kamazuki or Ashiya to pop up through the door. I paid no mind to the person getting closer and just started putting the now separated pieces of fabric into the washing machine.

The laundry room door opened and the footsteps stopped. The atmosphere became completely still. _It couldn't be... _I looked at the person at the door from the corner of my eye before turning to face them.

_Crap._

Amethyst eyes stared back at me from a few meters away. I felt my cheeks heat up at the eye-contact and turned to look at my laundry again. My heart was almost beating out of my chest. Hanzo closed the door behind him and went over to their apartment's washer without saying a word. I took another look at him from the corner of my eye.

He looked the same as he always had. An oversized, worn out t-shirt and gray shorts. His hair was messy and covered his right eye and he had two purple earrings on both ears. The only difference was that he was carrying a full laundry basket with him.

It was nothing out of the ordinary for me to see him in his usual attire, but I hadn't been in a top and sweatpants in front of him before. My hair was on a messy ponytail and I didn't have even the thinnest layer of makeup on. I probably wouldn't have felt so self-conscious about my appearance if our relationship wasn't what it was at the moment.

"So, uhm... It's unusual to see you doing any housework," I stuttered out, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little. Those were the first words I'd spoken to him in a while.

"...Ashiya made me do this," he spoke a little unsure.

"Ayame-chan made me help, too," I replied.

"That so?" he said, obviously not waiting for an answer. A short silence followed with the both of us doing our own tasks. I looked at the demon from the corner of my eye again.

"If you do it like that, the colour will stick to the white fabric," I commented when I noticed he hadn't separated the laundry before putting it into the washer.

"Huh? What did I do wrong?" he asked a little confused. It was obvious he knew even less about these things than I did. I sighed and walked over to him.

"You need to wash the white fabric and the coloured fabric in two different batches. Otherwise the colour that washes off from the coloured fabric will stick to the white," I said as I took out all the white fabric he'd stowen into the machine.

"Oh. I didn't know that," he said.

"I can see that," I replied with a small smile and flinched when I realized we'd made eye-contact again. "U-umm..."

"So how've you settled in...?" he asked mostly to play off the awkwardness.

"Just fine... This is a surprisingly nice place to live in, even considering the condition of the building..." I began explaining without looking at Hanzo. We were both avoiding the obvious topic.

"Have you found work yet?" he asked and casually leaned against the washing machine.

"We've had a couple of interviews, but no luck yet... We still have a few places to go through, though, so we try not to worry too much," I said and crossed my arms. "So... What's up at Demon Castle?"

"Same old... Maou's a workaholic and Ashiya's a bitch," he declared with ease. I failed to hold back a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, sounds like the same old to me."

"Yeah... um, listen," Hanzo stuttered. "About last time..."

"I'm sorry," I said before he could finish. "I don't know what I was thinking back then. I'm sorry if my behaviour confused you or anything," I said with a fake smile. I hadn't expected how much saying those words would hurt. "I just... had a lot in my mind, that's all." I turned around and walked back to the washer of 201 right after saying that. I put the rest of the laundry into the machine and looked through the detergents Ayame had placed into the laundry basket.

"That's all, huh?" Hanzo said and I turned to look at him again. I couldn't read his expression at all. "I should've guessed it was something like that."

"What do you mean?" I asked, stopping what I was doing. I was a little afraid of the answer.

"I mean that maybe it was a little too good to be true," he said with a smile. For some reason that smile broke my heart into a million little pieces.

"I-I..." I froze at that moment.

"It's fine. Let's not make anymore drama out of this. You and me is not happening," he said.

I hugged my arms against myself and looked at the floor for a moment. There were so many things I wanted to say, but my lips wouldn't part. _I hate feelings. I hate them. So much._

"Lucifer, I-I don't hate you," I stuttered out and he looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"I know you don't. It's painfully obvious you don't... It looks to me like you're just scared of something," he said. He was sharp as ever, figuring me out so quickly.

"That's true," I admitted. He probably didn't want to make me say anything if I didn't want to, so he stayed silent until I spoke again. "At first I thought I was afraid of being with you because it would've put me out of my comfort zone. But... The longer we were apart, the more I thought about it. Just a little while ago I ended up into a conclusion that it was something completely else, though..." The fallen angel turned to look at me again with a slight blush on his cheeks. The conversation seemed to be making the both of us show our vulnerabilities and it also looked like neither of us liked that.

"I'm afraid, too," Hanzo admitted after a short silence. I blinked, since I hadn't expected him to be honest about his feelings. "I'm not scared when I'm in a fight or when shit otherwise hits the fan. The last time I was scared like this was probably when Maou punched in my face," Hanzo laughed. "Sure, I might be unsure about things all the time, but it's nothing when compared to when I think about you. What scared me about you, is... Well, just the fact that you like me the way I am. You've never asked me to change, you've never said I've made mistakes. But I'm me. I'm afraid of you because I can't grasp onto what you like about _me_."

I noticed my breathing getting shaky. He was doubting himself. Lucifer, once Heaven's most poweful angel, a world-famous demon and a general of Satan's army was doubting himself in front of someone like me: An average-strenght young angel who could do nothing but run.

"To be honest, sometimes when Emilia or Chiho Sasaki or just Ashiya scold me about something – joining forces with Olba, not taking out the trash, about anything, really... Sometimes when they call me names and throw things at me, it doesn't just make me angry. It makes me sad," Hanzo spoke a little reluctantly. "It makes me think maybe I'm not actually good enough. It reminds me that I actually don't have a place to go to. When you and Audiana popped up into our apartment that one day and you asked my number I thought it was a trick of some sort. I would've believed you liked me back in Heaven, when I was still and archangel, but now- HEY!" the fallen angel went completely red in the face when I suddenly wrapped my arms around him. I laid my chin on his shoulder and felt his quickened heartbeat.

"I don't usually do things like these. I don't know what to do when people start talking about their feelings. I don't _care_ about them like I'm supposed to," I said as I held onto the NEET. He felt warm against me. "I wasn't afraid of you rejecting me. I wasn't afraid of being with you. I was afraid of breaking your heart," I chuckled. "Stupid, right? But..." I pulled away from him and smiled.

"It was because I doubt myself too. I know I'm a terrible person – I don't really have any proper morals and I cause nothing but misfortune to most. Sometimes I wonder how I even have friends. I'm weak and I use the people around me as a shield. But when it comes to you, I..." I blushed when I realized what I was saying. "When it comes to you, I'm not so afraid... I relate to you, I see the same pain and sadness of not knowing where to go or what to do and that gives me comfort. That... I'm not actually alone.

"I'm afraid of breaking your heart, because like you're you, I am also _me_. I know I can never open my heart completely to anyone and I know I'm difficult to deal with. I know I'm lazy and don't care about others. I know I try to isolate myself from everyone, but the truth is..." I held back the tears that wanted to escape so badly I felt like choking. "I don't _want to_ be alone," I said, now feeling the hot, salty drops of water on my cheeks and lips. "Because when I'm alone... I'm the most scared I can be." Maybe it was good I wasn't wearing any makeup today, after all.

"I don't like being alone either," Hanzo said. I wiped away some of my tears and smiled. "I know you think you're a mess and that you only drag other people down, but for me... There's nowhere lower to go," he said with a smile. "To me, you really do seem like an angel," he said and tried to look away to cover his blush. My chest felt warm and I didn't know if I was crying because I was sad or happy anymore, but I still felt like taking the defensive for one reason or another. I had to do my best to not walk out of the conversation and move to the neighbouring city.

"You don't need to feel that way about yourself. The fact that I relate to you isn't the only reason I have feelings for you. The thing that drew me in about you wasn't just that. It's because you're always funny with your sarcastic remarks. Because you're smart and speak your mind even though you know someone's going to throw something at you. It's because you like to make people mad at yo-" I stopped for a while, blinking. "You're trying to isolate yourself from everyone else too, huh?" I asked when I realized.

"Maybe," he said a little wistfully. "It could also be because they piss me off," he added with a sly smirk, not wanting to go into the matter anymore it seemed.

"That seems like a good reason, too," I chuckled and finally stepped away from the other angel. I'd almost forgotten I was there to do laundry, so I decided to put in the detergents and turn on the machine.

"So, Drea, are we... cool now?" Hanzo asked with caution.

"Yeah, we- Wait, where the hell did you learn that name?" I blinked at my nickname from Heaven. "I don't think anyone here besides Ayame-chan has heard it and you two don't talk to each other, right?"

"Uh... Well, it's easy to deduct from Drenumi..." Hanzo stuttered. There seemed to be more to the story and I crossed my arms in doubt. "And... I might've casually asked around about you back when we first met and Audiana might've accidentally slipped your nickname." My eyes widened in shock, but after that I shook my head and replaced the expression with a smirk.

"_You _asked around about _me_?" I asked a little amused.

"Just shut up, I don't wanna hear it," Hanzo said with that adorable blush decorating his cheeks again.

"Looks like I wasn't the one to make the first move, after all~" I chirped.

"Ugh..." Hanzo sighed.

"And for a while thought I would have to be the man of the relationship. Good job not letting me down~" I continued as irritatingly as I could.

"Alright, I get it. Shut up now."

"I'm sorry," I laughed. "I should probably head upstairs to Ayame. She most likely has things for me to do while the washer's in action."

"Uh-huh," Hanzo nonchalantly said and turned back to his laundry. He hadn't even gotten all of it into the machine because of our chat. I smiled at him before walking past him towards the door.

"I guess I'll see y- WAH!" I felt my arm being yanked and suddenly found myself standing in front of the fallen angel, our lips only centimeters apart. He closed the distance before I could react and kissed me.

It took me a moment to realize what was happening, and when I did, my cheeks went completely red. My heart was racing and everything became a little hazy. Once I got used to the feeling I started kissing him back and closed my eyes. His arms wrapped around my back and I wrapped mine around his neck. After kissing him for a while I noticed he was actually pretty good at it. I stopped thinking and let myself get lost into the moment.

Hanzo pulled away for air, his arms still around me and our foreheads pressed together. We stared into each other's eyes with little to no discomfort and it made my lips curve into a smile. I couldn't remember a time I felt so comfortable around someone. I noticed for the first time that we were about the same height, him being only slightly taller. It must've been odd for him to be the taller one, when I thought about it.

"Go out with me," Hanzo said. I froze.

"Uh..." I broke the eye-contact to look at a nearby wall. I was back to reality again. I didn't know what to say.

"It took me courage to actually ask you. The least you could do is reply," he said a little reluctantly. "Besides, it'd be cruel to leave me hanging now," he continued with a small smile.

"I'm sorry," I chuckled. "I'll... I'll go out with you," I said after a short pause. There was no turning back anymore. The demon's cheeks became flushed.

"I thought for sure you'd say no," he chuckled.

"Sorry. You're stuck with me now," I said and we shared a smile. I closed the distance between us again and we stayed there, in the flickering light of the laundry room, listening to the washing machine's rumbling for who knows how long.

* * *

After some time I came back from the laundry room with a basket full of wet clothes, towels and sheets. I'd washed the first round and decided it'd be best to hang the clothing to dry right away. With a blush covering my cheeks and my hair even more messed up than it was when I left I walked into the hallway of the second floor of Villa Rosa Sasazuka. I took a deep breath before grabbing the handle of the apartment 204, but then...

I froze and suddenly turned to look down the hallway. _What was that? _I moved my free hand from the door handle and listened for noises. It wouldn't have been odd to hear something from the apartments 201 and 202 on the other side of the hallway, but to me it seemed like this one came from the supposedly empty one, 203. I stayed completely still and tried to locate the source of the silent "klonk" I was certain I'd heard.

_Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. It most likely came from Kamazuki-san's apartment. Maybe she just dropped something, _I thought and brushed away the uncomfortable feeling from my mind. I took another deep breath and entered the room 204.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Aaaaaahhh! XD It was so tough to write the conversation between Hana and Lucy. The text wouldn't stop flowing, so it's not that, but it was hard not to make it too sappy or too obvious. I really hope I dodged the worst directions it could've went to.**

**I'm aware this is one of the shorter chapters, but content's more important than lenght, right? ^^ Also, dat foreshadowing at the end omg. *-***

**Hope you liked this chapter! It'd be beyond awesome if you'd follow, favorite and most importantly review! Reviews would be like chocolate sent from Heaven. Yum. Love you all and see you in the next chapter! **


	22. Chapter 21 - The struggles of humanity

**[A/N]**

**Ah, sorry, I've had exams so I haven't posted this week... (excuses, I don't study for exams anyway. I know, I'm dumb.) Warning: I was fairly tired while writing this... XD I also wrote it without a specific plan or an idea what it's gonna contain. I wanted to say "from scratch" but I wasn't sure it applied to this situation... Is that how you use it?**

**Hope you like this chapter!**

**EDIT: I meant to write hiragana... I don't know where I got furigana from. XD Anyway, it's fixed now.**

* * *

Chapter 21 – The struggles of humanity

I looked at the screen of my phone with lazy eyes and sighed. I had sent nearly ten messages to Gina and she hadn't answered any of them. I wasn't sure if she'd even looked at them. _What are you doing, Gina-chan? _I hadn't spoken to her in a while and my insecurity had already decided she was avoiding me. I knew there were other possibilities, but I was quick to overlook them.

I sent another message before closing the flip phone and sticking it into my denim shorts' pocket. I rose from my open futon and stretched my arms before skipping over to the kitchen and pouring myself a glass of water. The time was nearing twelve o'clock. _Ayame should be back soon_, I thought as I put down my empty glass.

As if on que, I heard the door to the building opening and closing. Footsteps closed in on our apartment's door and then Ayame entered the room with a tired expression. She threw her bag on the floor near the closet and immediately headed for the bathroom.

"Not even a "hi" or "I'm home"?" I asked with a lazy smirk and leaned against the kitchen counters.

"I'm home," Ayame yawned as she entered the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower," she said and locked the door after her. I didn't have to wait long to hear the shower going off. I shrugged and made my way back towards my futon to lay down, but stopped midway when I heard a knock on the door.

It didn't take much brainwork to make an accurate guess on who it was. There hadn't been any sounds of doors or footsteps before the knock. The knock was short and sharp, very distinctive. It was without a doubt Suzuno.

"Come in," I said and placed a hand on my hip. We didn't usually lock our door unless both me and Ayame were out. The handle moved and a short girl wearing a traditional japanese kimono strode in with a small, cute smile.

"Salutations, Hana-dono. I'm sorry to barge in without notice," she spoke with her soft monotone voice after closing the door behind her.

"We've told you a dozen times it's fine. What's up?" I replied.

"I was just wondering if you'd like me to prepare you lunch. I very much enjoy eating with you," she said. "Is Ayame-dono in the shower?" she asked and looked towards the bathroom.

"Uh, yeah, she just got back from an interview. It must've been a tough one, since she looked half-dead when she arrived," I chuckled.

"I see... Did she manage to get the job?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask," I said and sat down on my futon. I pulled my computer slightly closer only to receive a stare from Suzuno.

"You should put away your futon when it's daytime, Hana-dono. It's not good manners to keep it open like that, especially when you have company over. You should also be more considerate towards your guests and avoid using the computer when speaking to them," she lectured with an annoyed expression. "Honestly, you're just like Lucifer..."

"Alright – I'm sorry!" I sighed and closed the laptop. I was getting much more comfortable around the people in the building and it was the same for them. I wasn't afraid of being a little more impolite towards Suzuno and she wasn't afraid to scold me either. At this point I almost considered her a friend.

"Honestly, it's like looking after children..." Suzuno sighed and rolled her eyes. Apparently at that point something caught her eye. "Are those new drapes?"

"Yeah, they are. Me and Ayame-chan we're out the other day and she decided to buy a bunch of stuff for the apartment. That bookcase over there is also new. So is that vase on the table," I said pointed at the stuff I was talking about. There was a dark brown wooden bookcase next to the bathroom door where we kept all our mangas and novels (before that they'd been messily laid on the floor). The vase on the table was light blue – matching the drapes – and a bunch of different flowers were sticking out of it.

"You can afford to buy all these things without a job?" Suzuno wondered.

"Well, we have some savings and that stuff can be very cheap if you know where to look. Besides, it's only a matter of time before we find work... Our bad reputation can't have reached everywhere... can it?"

"You're really that bad at keeping a job? It's almost hard to believe."

"_Almost?_" I hissed and stood up from the futon. "Eh, we were pretty terrible at working when we came here. We pretty much only knew about being a soldier and it didn't help that we were obviously foreigners. We would mess up at the counter, mix the orders, accidentally break things... Anything you can think of, really. One time I accidentally set something on fire, too..." I sighed in annoyment. "We haven't gotten recommendations from one place and we always got fired within a month or two. Our resumes are suspicious to say the least."

"Ahh, I understand your trouble now... But why not sign up to the army, then? Since you were already familiar with it and all," Suzuno questioned and folded her arms. I looked away for a moment. "Oh, I'm sorry! That was a stupid question."

"It's fine," I laughed. Suzuno already knew we left Heaven to _escape_ our pasts. I noticed the sounds of the shower cut off and took a quick look towards the bathroom.

"Hana?" Ayame called behind the door.

"What is it?" was my lazy reply.

"Could you hand me a towel? I forgot to grab one," she said.

"Sure," I mumbled. I walked over to the closet and picked a random towel out of the few we had. I roamed through the room, all the way to the bathroom door. "Here you go." Ayame opened the door just enough to take the towel and then disappeared back into the depths of the bathroom.

"So, what would you like to have for lunch? I'm more than willing to cook," Suzuno said and walked over to the kitchen. Ayame walked out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around her body.

"You don't need to do that, Suzuno-san," she said with a smile and went over to the closet to find clothes.

"No, it's perfectly fine," the black-haired girl assured. "About the job interview you had this morning... How did it go?" Ayame froze.

"To be honest, not so good. If only you could've seen the unsatisfied look on that guy's bearded face," she sighed.

"So you didn't get the job?" I asked.

"No..."

"Where were you applying to?" Suzuno asked.

"To Dokodemo," Ayame said and turned back to the closet.

"Where Yusa-san works?" I blinked. I hadn't asked about all the jobs she was trying to get.

"Uh, yeah. I thought it would be nice to have a friend at work," she said. "I guess that wish is somewhat scrapped now, though. I screwed up the interview by stuttering every sentence... Not a very desirable attribute in a call center agent, right?"

"Why on Earth were you stuttering, then? I thought you were supposed to be good at speaking," I growled.

"The interviewer was scary..." Ayame sobbed.

"Do you have places left to try?" Suzuno asked from the both of us.

"I have a couple more interviews coming and Hana-chan actually has one tomorrow," the blonde stated and took a look at me.

"Wait, I do?"

"..."

"..."

"KEEP UP WITH YOUR SCHEDULE, IDIOT!" Ayame yelled and threw a shirt at me.

"Oy, Drea, could you maybe go... and..."

The time in the apartment 204 of Villa Rosa Sasazuka seemed to have come into a stop. Everyone was standing still and staring into the direction of the fourth voice with widened eyes. Maybe it was because we were so focused in our conversation, but none of us had noticed the door across the hall open nor footsteps nearing – yet, there he was. A simple NEET from across the hall (even though you could argue he wasn't _just_ a NEET) surprised two soldiers of Heaven and an inquisitor of the Church by sneaking up on them. He just stood there in his cheap t-shirt and shorts like the stop of time in the apartment had suddenly swallowed him up in it as well.

"KYAAAAA~! GET OUT!" came the yell from Ayame, who was still only wearing a towel. "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" she screamed as she violently tried to push the door closed.

"Ahh, w-wait...!" the fallen angel whined as he got shoved into the hallway. Ayame sighed with a bright blush on her cheeks and slid into a sitting position against the door.

"Lucifer, you _pervert_!" Suzuno called into the hallway.

"_You think I _expected _her to be in nothing but a towel?!_" Lucifer yelled from the other side of the door.

"You should learn to knock before you barge into a woman's apartment!" Suzuno yelled back.

"_Well it wouldn't be that bad if I barged into yours and this happened, since you don't have much to hide anyway,_" Lucifer joked and Suzuno went pale for a moment.

"I think that's enough...! Just go away, Lucifer."

"_But I need to talk to you._"

"Huh? Uh... just wait a second then," I replied. Ayame looked at me with her head tilted to the side. The red on her cheeks had somewhat faded off.

"You two made up?" she asked with a surprised expression.

"_You could say so,_" Lucifer commented.

"Nobody asked you, pervert!" Ayame and Suzuno exclaimed in unison.

"He called you Drea, too. Just how close are you now...?" Ayame continued her questioning. I looked away in embarrasment.

"He can call me Drea without any particular meaning, you know..." I stuttered and removed the shirt from the top of my head. I looked at it before dropping it on the floor.

"Oh my God. They're dating," Ayame declared. She got up from her spot against the door and leaped in front of me.

"What? You and Lucifer are together? When did that happen?" Suzuno, who had at some point recovered from Lucifer's insult, asked with a horrified tone.

"Ah... eh... that... I... Gotta go!" I yelled and slipped past them to the door.

"Hey, wait!" Ayame yelled. I got out the door before she could catch me and leaned my weight against it. I felt her trying to open the door with force. "_No fair! I have questions!_"

"I bet you do..." I muttered and turned to face Lucifer. He was standing near the wall and looked at me with a bored expression.

"I like your roommate," he said with every drop of sarcasm he could muster.

"Moving on... What is it you wanted to say?"

"Oh, that... Could you go to the store for me?" the fallen angel asked with his usual monotone.

"That's what you caused this chaos for?" I sighed in disappointment.

"Again, I didn't expect her to be in a towel."

"I know," I said. "Why do you need me to go to the store?"

"There's stuff I need you to buy."

"I think that's the obvious part. _What_ do you need me to buy?"

"_We're not spending any money on him!_" Me and Lucifer took a quick glance at the door Ayame was yanking again.

"Some stuff for my laptop mostly. It's been acting out so much it's making gaming nearly impossible," the fallen angel said and leaned against the wall.

"And you think you can fix it? Wouldn't it be easier to take it to a computer shop to be repaired? Also, why can't Ashiya go and pick up the stuff for you?" I asked in suspicion.

"_Seriously, you're not paying for anything he tells you to or you're out on the streets!_" The both of us kept ignoring Ayame for the time being.

"I looked it up and it's really just a minor fault you can easily fix at home. Also, Ashiya nor Maou care about the condition of my laptop as long as we have access to the internet," he explained.

"That so?" I sighed. "Well, what do you need me to buy, then?"

"_I'm gonna bust down this door!_"

"_I humbly recommend you put on some clothes first._"

"_...Awh, crap..._" The yanking of the door stopped and I moved my weight away from it.

"I'll write you a list," Lucifer said and headed for the door across the hall. I followed him inside the apartment 201, also known as Demon Castle, and closed the door behind me. I looked around in the empty apartment while Lucifer looked through the cabinets for a pen and paper.

"Are the others at work or something?" I asked.

"Maou is. I'm guessing Ashiya's at the library or something," the NEET said and laid a small notepad on the low table. He sat down and started writing down all the things he needed me to buy.

"So you probably haven't been playing much if your computer's a wreck, right?"

"Well, that's to be expected," he sighed and ripped off the notepad page. "Here." He handed me the page and I stuck it into my pocket without looking at it.

"Sometimes it feels like you're just using me to get what you want," I said with my arms folded.

"That's because I am. You remember what happened the last time I went out."

"You have a point." The trip to the game store returned something else to my mind. "Maybe we could play more HR once you've repaired your laptop," I suggested.

"It's been a while since we last played. I assume you still suck at it," he smirked.

"Hey, I beat you last time," I said and backed away towards the door. He stood up and followed me.

"Leaving already?"

"I need to get to the store, don't I?" I said as I opened the door.

"Why are you in such a hurry, though~?" he purred suggestively and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"I have other stuff to do as well, idiot," I truthfully said. The trip to the store had given me an excuse to go and see Gina. "Is this what all our conversations are gonna go to from now on?" I backed into the hallway.

"What are you implying?" the demon spoke with an oddly innocent tone and stepped into the hallway. He wrapped his hands around my waist and crashed our lips together before I could answer. That's when I heard a loud crash.

My automatic reaction was to break off the kiss and turn to look towards the sudden noise. What I saw was two very red faces still looking in my direction from the window of apartment 204. I stared at them with my mouth agape. Now fully clothed Ayame broke off the eye-contact to collect the broken pieces of the glass I'd drunk from that day off the sink. Suzuno jumped away from the window with an expression saying she'd seen nothing.

"Uh..."

I turned to look at Lucifer with my face probably redder than ever. He was avoiding eye-contact with me with a similar colour on his face. Then another sound was heard. A door opening. We snapped our heads to look to the direction of the sound and our faces went from red to white.

"Crap..." Lucifer squeaked.

"Urushihara, why are your hands on her waist?" Ashiya asked from the door leading to the outside world. The fallen angel pulled his hands away from me a little too quick to be natural. I looked at Ashiya while he pieced it all together in his head. His expression switched into a shocked one in a matter of milliseconds. "SINCE WHEN...?!" he asked, struggling to get out the words. _I hate my life._

* * *

After barely surviving some very embarrassing minutes at Villa Rosa Sasazuka I'd managed to escape with my bag. I was strolling the streets, making my way to Gina's apartment. My cheeks still felt hot.

I'd only been together with Lucifer for two days but so far it wasn't helping my anxiety. I was glad to know he was mine now and I was glad about what our relationship was like so far. It was like when we were just friends, except for the obvious benefits. The only thing I didn't like was that the whole situation was putting me on the spotlight. _And we all know what I think about the spotlight, right?_

I sighed and pulled down the neck of my t-shirt. The neckline was opressively small. I felt like it was going to choke me or something. _Why do I have a shirt like this, anyway?_

I thought about a lot of things while I walked. Even though I was fairly happy – if you didn't include the deadly embarrasment – when I left, my thoughts had the habit of going into a darker direction the more time I spent alone. This time was no different from the others.

_It's good that we made up, I suppose... I do really wanna be with him when I think about it. I guess I really was afraid. Uh. I'm always afraid of stupid things. But then again, are they stupid? If I were to voice them I'm sure most people would brush them off as ridiculous. _I took a turn to the street leading for Gina's house.

_Lucifer didn't think I was being ridiculous. But is he an exception? He has to be, he's the most similar person to me I've ever met, after all. From my point of view there really aren't many people like me. But I can't know that, though. I can't read thoughts. _I looked up from the street and noticed I was at Gina's house. I entered the yard and headed for the door.

_I wonder if anything's gonna become of this relationship. I know I only drag people down. I also know I have a habit of growing apart from people very quickly. I might lo- _like _him today and forget him the next. I wonder if it's something that shows intellect or stupidity. I suppose it shows weakness more than anything. _I pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to answer.

_Maybe I'd just be better off alone. Forever. I'm terrible at maintaining relationships. I never really asked for them in the first place... Now that was a lie. I know I've chased relationships in the past. I thought other people would keep me standing. Guess what, past me? Turns out they don't. I make them fall._

_If other people would know of my inner distress they'd surely try to help me. I don't want to be helped, though. I don't think there's anything wrong with me... Even though I don't quite understand why I'm so afraid or just plain numb inside most of the time. I don't want to talk about it until I find out, either. I guess they'd suggest I should find a therapist. Again, I don't need help with this._

_Besides... Therapists go for very obvious reasons when it comes to things like these. But then again, I don't know where I've heard it from (probably from an anime, to be honest), but reasons are always simple. I guess my reason would be insecurity. Is it something I should fix? Am I even fixable? Why do I need to be fixed? _I realized I'd been standing in front of the door for a while. There was no answer, so I checked my phone for the time and then pressed the doorbell again.

_I haven't thought about things like these in a while. I've had many things to distract me from it. The last time I properly thought about this stuff was probably back in Heaven. Ah, Heaven... I don't know how to feel about that place. I sort of miss it, but in a very different way one would expect. I don't miss my home or my friends as much as one would think. What I miss more is... Hmm..._

_Ignorance. Yes, I miss the sweet ignorance of the feelings of fear and insecurity. The feelings I hadn't properly experienced when I was still just a low-ranking soldier in the army. I suppose I really am weak for being thrown to face those feelings with such a small shake in my little world. Everyone's life would probably be much easier if I'd simply stop speaking and I was concealed away into a white room forever. Mine would be, at least._

After another while I realized no one was going to come and open the door, so I turned around to leave. _Another dead end, then... _I made my way to the gate and was just about to leave the yard when I heard a car engine. I looked toward the sound and saw Gina's mom parking her car on the driveway. I waved at her when she got out of the car.

"Wakahisa-san, what a delight," she greeted. "Gina's not at home, she left to a friend's house some time ago," the thin woman spoke and went to the back of the car to get her grocery bags.

"Yeah, I noticed. Do you need help with those?" I pointed to the plastic bags she carried to the door.

"No, no, it's fine," she said and put down the bags to look for her keys. "I know it's not really any of my business, but... Are you and Gina having an argument of some sort?"

"Ah... Well, sort of," I admitted. I really didn't want to have a conversation about it with Matsuoka, but it seemed I didn't have much choice.

"That Gina. She's always so stubborn about things," the woman laughed and stuck her key in the lock.

"It was more my fault than hers..." I said, hand already on the gate, ready to pull it open.

"Is that so?" she continued with her cheery attitude. I was sure Gina had gotten her charm from her. "I hope you kids make up. Friends are an important thing."

"Yeah," I agreed to get out of the situation. "I should probably go..."

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry for keeping you here! You probably have a bunch of things to do now that you and Honda-san are renting an apartment together. Have you found a job yet?" _Where did she hear about how I live? From Ayame? _

"No, but we're looking," I said and opened the gate to leave.

"Well, good luck," she wished as she entered her house.

"Thanks," I said before she closed the door and I managed to escape. I sighed loudly and stopped outside the gate to recall what I was doing again. I reached into my pocket to look at the note Lucifer had given me and decided to start heading for the mall.

I needed to find a proper computer store to pick up all the things he needed for his laptop. I looked through the note with a bored expression. I furrowed my brows more the longer I looked at the note.

"I can't read this," I thought out loud and turned the note in my hands. At first I thought I didn't understand it because of all the odd terms, but the longer I looked at it the more I realized I was wrong. I simply couldn't understand his handwriting. The writing was so messy and had so many spelling issues the only thing I could tell from it was that it was all written in hiragana. It seemed Lucifer had been too lazy to even try and learn kanji.

_And I thought I was good at understanding bad handwriting... Then again, this is a whole new level of bad. _I dug out my phone in annoyance to call and complain to a certain fallen angel.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Woo, so... Pervert Lucifer strikes and all that. I honestly don't know what I was thinking with this chapter... XD Hope you liked it anyway. Follow, favorite and review if you feel like it.**


	23. Chapter 22 - From a job to another

**[A/N]**

**Hello, darlings! I'm sorry I've been gone so long... I haven't had motivation to write, but don't worry! Once I found the motivation I wrote to you this extra long chapter! This is officially the longest chapter in the fic so far. I'll give you more important info at the author's note after the chapter, but for now, just enjoy this one!**

**Oh, btw, I noticed that there was already a parody of Skype in the novels, so I'm going with it.**

**CallMeLy: Thank you so much! Nice reviews like yours make me motivated to continue this fic. :3 I'm trying my best to keep them in character and the situations that happen as realistic for the story as possible. I also like creating characters, which probably shows from my story. XD**

* * *

Chapter 22 – From a job to another

I mentally prepared myself for the horrors that awaited me that day. I was wearing a plain, dark green button-up shirt and black jeans. My ordinary sneakers were replaced with a pair of Ayame's boots and my hair was on a neat chignon. My makeup also looked very professional.

"I really hate it when I have to put effort into things like these," I sighed as I reluctantly put on a pair of plain, black earrings.

"You have to look and act like you actually want the job. Otherwise you certainly won't get it," Ayame spoke with a firm tone and checked through my hair to make sure it's usual wildness wouldn't ruin the hairdo.

"I might get to be a clothing seller at the mall... I'm screaming out of joy," I said with thick sarcasm and left the bathroom with a frown. Ayame followed me to the door and handed me my bag.

"With that attitude you'll never get a job. I'm not gonna support you, you need to get your own money. Understand?" the blonde lectured.

"Yeah, yeah... I'll do my best," I assured and threw the bag carelessly over my shoulder. "Wish me luck."

"I will," Ayame said with the widest smile she could manage. I entered the hallway of the apartment and was already taking a step towards the door. Before I could leave, however, I suddenly stopped and took a look at the door across the hall. _Considering what happened yesterday, it's probably best that I stop by..._

I shrugged and walked over to the door 201. I didn't hesitate or knock before opening the door and stepping inside.

"I'm going out for a bit, so you won't be able to reach me," I said to seemingly no one in particular, but my eyes were fixated on Lucifer, who was sitting in his usual spot at the computer. I saw Maou and Ashiya looking at me from the corner of my eye.

"Okay then," Lucifer said without even moving his eyes from the computer screen.

"You could be at least a little more affectionate. Or, you know, maybe ask me where I'm headed," I said, obviously disappointed in the response.

"Okay then, Drea-chan," Lucifer said, tone colourless and eyes still on his screen.

"Seriously..." I muttered and turned to look at the other two males in the apartment. They were sitting at the table drinking tea. Maou had a magazine next to his tea cup that Ashiya seemed to be a little curious about. "See you later," I said to the two at the table.

"You too... Hope you don't mind me asking, but, where _are_ you going, Wakahisa-san? Since you're even reporting it to Urushihara and all," Maou spoke with his head slightly tilted to the side.

"See, _hun_? It's not that hard to ask," I hissed at Lucifer, who only gave a "mm-hmm" sound as a response. "I have a job interview," I said to the raven.

"Oh, that's right – you're still hunting for work. Well, good luck," Maou replied. Neither he or Ashiya seemed to be commenting anything about me and Lucifer, which I was thankful for.

"Thanks. I'll need it..." I said and shrugged before backing away towards the hallway. "I'm leaving now," I said to Lucifer with a clear voice. "Last chance to say goodbye."

"Bye," the fallen angel replied with a tone as plain as my clothing.

"...Fine. Be that way, then," I said a little annoyed.

"Better that way than the other alternative I witnessed yesterday," Ashiya said casually from the table. I would've been interested in my boyfriend's reaction if I myself wouldn't have turned completely white at his words. _He really hates me, doesn't he? No, wait; maybe he hates Lucifer. Maybe both, now that I think about it._

I closed the door behind me as I left to the hallway and slowly dragged myself out of the building.

* * *

Any normal human being would've been panicking the second they realized they didn't have anything prepared for the interview that was going to begin in a matter of minutes. I wasn't a normal human being, though, and being an angel had also little to do with what was going through my head. I didn't like to stress about school or jobs, especially at a point where I didn't know if I was going to succeed or not. I liked to leave the worrying for a later phase.

_Huh, probably one of the only good things about me._

I went through the crowded mall trying not to think about the masses of people that passed me. I held tight onto my bag's strap and headed for one of the expensive clothing stores at the end of the hallway. They'd been wanting help for some time, but for some reason no one had filled the empty spot.

I arrived at the store and took a moment to look at it's appearance. A bright, bling-blingy sign on top of the wide, open door and fairly expensive looking or dare I even say boring clothing filling all of the light grey metal shelves. _Here we are... Looks uncomfortably fancy._

I took a deep breath before entering the store. It felt like every shop assistant in the store turned to look at me with a disgusted expression._I guess the poor have no power here in this realm._

* * *

I entered the backroom of the clothing store after I'd found the manager and introduced myself. She was a short woman, even though not as short as me, and one wouldn't call her particularily fat or thin. To say it short, she was of medium built. Her hair was short and curly and matched the soft expression on her face.

The woman looked oddly inviting for a store like that, but her clothing immediately told otherwise. They were all the latest fashion and obviously very expensive. Her makeup was also very detailed and matched with her white and grey outfit perfectly. If you were poor, like me, you felt like you were backed into a corner with a fancy person like her.

The woman led me into her office decorated in light shades of grey and brown and sat behind her table. She smiled and pointed me to my seat across from her. I sat down and placed my bag on my lap.

"So, Wakahisa-san... How's your day?" she asked as she went through some papers on the desk.

"My day? Uhh, well... It's fine," I replied with a confused expression. I wasn't sure how to respond to that particular question to someone I didn't know.

""Fine," huh?" she chuckled as she piled the papers she was holding to the end of the table.

"Well, I mean... I-I've had better mornings but- ah! Of course I was excited for-"

"Listen, Wakahisa-san. Judging by your CV you've had more than enough interviews to practise, hmm? Why are you so nervous?" the woman asked and leaned her elbows on the table.

"I'm not... _nervous_, per say. I'm just not good with- I mean-"

"Ah, actually, I don't care about that. I care more about whether you're someone I can hire," she sighed and leaned back in her chair. "So far you're not making an impression, but I'll give you one more chance. I assume you've somehow prepared for this interview? Just shoot whatever you were prepared to say," she said, got up from her seat and headed for the coffee machine on the shelf. I hadn't even noticed she was making coffee the whole time.

"You mean you're giving me the opportunity to just... say whatever?" I asked a little hesitantly.

"Yes. That's exactly it. Now, tell me why I should hire you," she spoke and poured herself a cup of coffee before returning to her seat.

"Well, I... I've been working as a sales clerk before, even though not in a clothing store. So, I have experience in that area... Ehh... A-and I'm very precise with my work. I-"

"So precise that you'll set copiers on fire?" the woman asked under her neatly picked eyebrows. My eyes widened and I quickly turned to stare at the floor.

"You know about that, huh...?" I sighed in defeat. "B-but you see, the paper inside was jammed and the thing inside was broken and it overheated and-"

"Yes... I wanted to give you a chance even though I heard about the insident from one of my contacts. It appears you're not qualified for this job or any other," the woman spoke with an arrogant tone. Usually I would've at least given her a blank stare, but today the words spoken to me scraped too close to the truth.

"I can find my way to the door... Thanks for the opportunity," I said as I quietly left the office.

* * *

The following days went very similarily. I had a lot of interviews that week and I somehow managed to screw them all up. If it wasn't my insecure aura or clumsy explanations, it was my clumsy aura or insecure explanations. I simply wasn't fit for any of the jobs that I was going for and my motivation was low, since I didn't want them in the first place.

All the failed interviews made a visible dent on my already low confidence. My last one ended up on me breaking a chair by simply standing up too quickly and getting my bag tangled in it. It fell down to my feet and crashed broken before I could do anything. _How is that even possible?!_

Currently I was making my way home with my eyes glued to the tarmac. I wasn't sure where I was even going and hoped my feet would know the route. Eventually I did actually make it back home in one piece, even though I bumped into some random strangers and street lights on the way.

I climbed up the stairs of Villa Rosa and slipped at one of the lower steps. I fell on my back, still mostly expressionless. _Figures_, I thought as I got up and rubbed my back while climbing up the stairs and stepping into the hallway. I stopped to gather my courage before going into my apartment.

"I'm back," I sighed and threw my bag on the floor. I noticed that my futon was put away and immediately gave up the idea of collapsing on it, since opening it up would've been too much work.

"Welcome back. How did it go...? And why are your clothes messed up?" Ayame asked a little suspicious and turned to look at me from her manga book at the table. Her clothes were also very carefully picked and her hair was on a neat ponytail. _That's right, she had an interview today as well._

"Uhh..." I slouched to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water.

"Not well, huh?" Ayame asked and closed the manga.

"I... broke a chair..." I said and put down my glass.

"Seriously, how do you manage these things?" The blonde placed a hand on her forehead.

"Let's not talk about it... How'd your interview go?"

"They said they'll consider me. I'm waiting for a call either today or tomorrow," she said with a thumbs up.

"That so? Good luck then," I said with a small smile and leaned against the kitchen counters. "So, what's my next interview?"

"You don't have one."

…

"I don't?"

"No. Those were all the places I arranged for you. You're out of interviews," Ayame stated and crossed her arms. "What are you gonna do now?"

I sunk into the familiar blackness of depression and looked at the blonde with empty eyes.

"...I'm going to sulk," I said as I headed out of the apartment.

"Where are you going?"

"I already told you." I left the apartment and lazily walked over to the door across the hall. I didn't knock before entering the apartment 201 and looked through the tenants. All three were present.

"Wakahisa-san?" Maou questioned. He seemed to be gathering his things for work.

"You have an evening shift, huh?" I lazily asked and closed the still open door behind me.

"I do... You look half dead. Are you alright?" the raven asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Did you perhaps screw up another interview?" Ashiya smirked as he took off his apron._ Is he leaving, too?_

"Ashiya, no need to be so mean," Maou complained to his general.

"I'm sorry, Maou-sama," Ashiya said, obviously pointing his apology only to his master.

"It's fine, it's fine..." I sighed and walked farther into the apartment. I looked at Lucifer, who had actually turned away from his computer to look at me. "It's true, I messed up another job opportunity."

"You really seem to be trying to set a record or something," the NEET complained with zero compassion.

"Urushihara, that's your girlfriend. You should try and be more considerate," Maou said and grabbed his keys from the table at the center of the room.

"You don't need to interfere with my relationships, Maou," Lucifer, a.k.a. Urushihara, said, slightly ticked off at the raven. I sat down next to him and he turned to look at me a little surprised. I collapsed against him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "U-uh..." I didn't know exactly what expression he wore, since my face was buried in his chest, but I guessed it was an embarrased one.

"Are you sure I don't need to?" Maou asked on the verge of laughter.

"You should swallow your pride and listen to Maou-sama. He seems to know much more about women than you do," Ashiya spoke with pride.

"Stay out of this, housewife," Lucifer hissed and casually placed a hand on my back. "I'm not the one who has two high school girls harrassing me."

"How dare you insul-" Ashiya paused in the middle of his sentence. I parted from Urushihara's t-shirt to see his expression. He was thinking for a moment before turning to look at Maou. "Actually, that's true. Maou-sama, please do something about your lovelife."

"How did this suddenly become about me?" Maou complained and rubbed his temples. "Let's just go, Ashiya."

"Yes, milord," Ashiya responded and hanged up the apron he was still carrying around. I turned back to Lucifer, who noticed me moving and turned to look at me, too.

"What am I gonna do?" I asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Huh? Don't you still have other interviews? Were those all?" the purple-head asked, avoiding direct eye-contact with me.

"They were. I don't know where I could apply to now," I complained and nearly pushed the NEET against the tatami mat when I once more buried my face in his chest. "I'm terrible at job hunting as it is," I mumbled against him.

"You could always become a NEET," he chuckled and moved the hand from my back to my hair. With his free hand he took support of the floor.

"Ugh... Ayame-chan would kick me out without thinking about it twice," I said and grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Really? I didn't think she'd actually be that brutal."

"You don't know her like I do."

"Oh, and one more thing," came a voice from the door. I parted from Urushihara once more to see who was speaking. It was Maou.

"You're still here?" I asked with a light blush on my cheeks. I saw Ashiya in the hallway behind Maou.

"Well, I came back to say something," the raven admitted and rubbed the back of his head. "I was wondering if you'd like to apply to MgRonald's." My eyes widened and I pulled myself away from Urushihara, who automatically moved his hand off my hair.

"Oh, that's right... They're always hiring. I remember you making that offer to Suzuno once, too," Urushihara said with his familiar monotone.

"Do you think they'd hire me?" I asked. My mood had completely switched even though I didn't want to get my hopes up too much.

"You can't know until you try. Besides, if Chiho's been able to keep her job all this time, I'm sure you'd be able to," Maou chuckled.

"A-and you'd be ready to arrange an interview for me just like that?" Maou nodded with a wide smile.

"You're the girlfriend of one of my generals and that makes you an essential part of his mental health. You should know that I try my best to take good care of my subordinates," he proudly stated and placed one of his fists against his chest. I saw the bored look on Urushihara's face from the corner of my eye.

"You'd better appreciate the kindness of milord. If you manage to actually get the job, you need to do a good job at it to be able to reflect a good image of him," Ashiya lectured behind Maou.

"I don't think she's capable of "doing a good job,"" Urushihara smirked.

"Seriously, Urushihara – she's your _girlfriend_," Maou replied.

"That interview would be a lifesaver for me. If you'd just be so kind to arrange it, I-" I began, completely ignoring Urushihara's statement.

"No problem, it's practically done. I already told you I take care of my subordinates. This is the least I can do for you," Maou said.

"You're way too kind to be a demon lord," I chuckled.

"Hmm, that so?" the raven responded. "Well, we're going now. I'll tell Kisaki-san to call you later about the details of the interview," he promised.

"Alright. And thank you, honestly," I said with a smile before the two demons left. After that I brushed off the expression and leaned back with a sigh.

"All that sucking up taking a toll on you?" Urushihara asked with a sly tone.

"Of course you noticed," I replied and leaned my back against him and laid the back of my head against his shoulder.

"You aren't really as hard to read as you think you are," he laughed and wrapped his arms around my torso. At first I didn't even realize that was one of those rare moments we were so close to each other. It was... nice.

"Wanna watch a movie together?" I asked out of caprice.

"Huh? Where'd that come from?" the NEET wondered and let go of me as I sat up.

"Hmm, I don't know. It's just, I happen to be here and we've never really done anything like that as a couple," I explained.

"Why do we need to do anything like that "as a couple" again?" he asked and raised a brow.

"You don't need to think about it like that if you don't want to. We can just be watching a movie as friends... I just thought it'd be more fun if, for example, we watched a horror movie and I had the option of clutching onto you in the scary parts," I giggled.

"You aren't actually scared of horror movies, are you?" Urushihara responded with a smirk.

"Well... The good ones, yeah," I admitted with a blush. I eyed the tatami mats with some embarrasment. The smirk on the male's face turned into laughter as he turned to his computer.

"Sure, why the hell not," he said after calming down. "For some reason I'm really curious what you look like when you're scared."

"Aww, look who's falling for me," I teased. The results were somewhat disappointing, since the other angel didn't even bother to look away from his screen.

"What do you wanna watch, _girlfriend_?" he asked after a moment of web surfing.

* * *

Later that day I got a call from an unknown number. Normally I would've ignored it, but since I knew about the arrangements Maou had supposedly made for me I answered it without a second thought. On the other end of the line was a young woman who called herself Mayumi Kisaki, the manager of the MgRonald's Maou worked at.

I'd agreed on the time of the interview with Kisaki – it was the next day at ten o'clock. Ayame woke me up early to make sure I looked presentable once more. She threatened me with throwing me out if I screwed up this interview as well and I wasn't sure if she was serious or not. Her eyes said she was, but one never knew with her...

The time was nearing ten when I got to the MgRonald's. Chiho greeted me from the counter and directed me into Kisaki's office, where she was already waiting for me. She was a young woman with black hair and eyes and looked surprisingly beautiful even when in uniform. Her smile was also very nice, but didn't seem to hold the feel of betrayal like the manager of the clothing store I applied to.

The start of the conversation was a little awkward for my part, but I managed to somehow answer all of her questions and even explain (even though very clumsily) why my CV was so long at the age of 18.

"I know I'm not a very good option for-"

"You're hired."

Silence followed for a moment. My brain couldn't progress the information given to me properly.

"Excuse me?"

"I said that you're hired," Kisaki repeated with a smile before standing up from her spot behind the table.

"R-really? Thank you so much!" I exclaimed with my hands clutching onto my bag. "But... why?" I accidentally slipped. "I mean, uhh-"

"Wakahisa-san," the woman started, interrupting my speech again. "Do you know why I hired Maou-kun when he first came to me for work?"

"Huh? Eh... Because he's smart and a smooth talker?" I guessed.

"That- Well, that, yes, but that wasn't the only reason. Even if someone's a smooth talker doesn't mean they're trustworthy. It's quite the opposite, actually. Smooth talkers are the ones a woman should be wary of," Kisaki explained. "I didn't know anything about his backround besides the fact that he lived with a roommate. It of course struck me as odd."

"Then... why?" I asked.

"Because I wanted to give him a chance. Even though people seem one way on the surface, they often have hidden talent. By giving others a single chance a person might find much more than they ever hoped for. Look at Maou-kun now – look at the person whom most would've taken as terribly untrustworthy – and say he's not the best worker at this MgRonald's," Kisaki spoke and sat to the edge of her table.

"If I'd never given that guy his chance, I wouldn't have my shift manager, the Demon of Sales, at my side. That would've been a giant loss, right?" Kisaki smiled. "That's why I'm hiring you. You might seem clumsy and completely incapable for this or any job, but I don't think I'll really know that unless I'm giving you a proper chance. Besides..."

"Hmm?"

"I don't think Maou-kun would've recommended you for nothing. I trust him. He must know you can handle the job," the woman spoke confidently._ I wonder if she knows I'm his roommate's girlfriend._

"You seem like a smart person, Kisaki-san. I'm thankful for the chance you've given me," I spoke surprisingly honestly. I'd noticed that lately when I spoke to either Maou or Chiho I'd get some sort of comforting feeling from them. Kisaki gave me the same, odd feeling.

"Thank you for the compliment, but there's no need for it. I simply live by the principles I've deemed right for me," she said and got up from the table. I stood up out of reflex when she offered her hand to me. I grabbed it and we shook hands with smiles. "Welcome to MgRonald's."

* * *

I returned home with a wide smile and Ayame immediately caught up on it.

"You got the job?" she asked with a similar expression.

"I did – from now on I'll be working at MgRonald's."

"Good job! I'm proud," Ayame clapped. "That's not all the good news, by the way. I got a job as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah, from now on I'll be working as a waitress at the mall," Ayame stated with a hand on her hip.

"Well, phew. The job hunting is finally over," I sighed in relief. "I can finally mess up my hair!" I opened up the chignon my hair was on and let it blow up on my shoulders and back.

"That's not what you should be happy about," the blonde said.

"What can I say...? I'm not really that happy I have to work five to six days a week now, but I'm happy about the money... And that I get to wear my hair more casually again. I think that style suits me better," I explained as I opened the two highest buttons of my shirt in relief.

"Well, you _have_ always been fashion handicapped..."

"Watch it, I don't wanna attack you," I growled as I threw my bag on the floor. "Anyway, I'm going to tell Lucifer."

"I bet he's gonna be _so~_ excited," Ayame said with dripping sarcasm.

"I need to let him know. Oh, and I have to thank Maou-san when he gets off work," I said.

"Wow, you're learning politeness, too! I'm surprised~" Ayame smirked.

"Again, watch it," I said and stepped into the hallway. I closed the door behind me and skipped into the apartment across the hall with a smile. "Lucy~!"

"I thought I told you not to call me that," Lucifer sighed and turned around to look at me. His annoyed look turned into a surprised one when I jumped in front of him and kissed him before he could even register the situation. He broke the kiss with his face flushed.

"W-what's up with you today?" he asked while avoiding eye-contact. I was a little confused about his behaviour.

"I actually managed to succeed at something – imagine, I got the job Maou-san offered!" I exclaimed.

"That's _great_, but I meant... Uh..." Urushihara simply stopped speaking and pointed to his left without looking at me. I followed his finger to the direction he was pointing at and saw three pairs of eyes staring at me.

The air in the room had completely stilled for half a second. For some reason I hadn't realized the possibility that we wouldn't be alone in the apartment.

"S-s-s-suzuno-san? A-a-ashiya-san? Yusa-san?!" I yelled in surprise, a deep blush taking over my face.

"Uh, eh..." Suzuno shared the blush on my and Urushihara's faces before turning to look away. She was standing at the kitchen counters with Ashiya, while Yusa was sitting at the table and going through a magazine.

"Wakahisa-san... You'll catch the NEET from him," Yusa spoke with a judging and a somewhat shocked tone and expression.

"I didn't think you were bold enough to show your affection for her in front of other people... or the other way around for that matter," Ashiya said with wide eyes.

"I-I didn't know-! AGH!" I yelled and buried my heated up face in my palms.

"I thought you were kidding when you told me about it, Suzuno. It's actually _true_, huh? _Urushihara_ has a _girlfriend_? A _real_ girlfriend?" Yusa said.

"I wouldn't kid about such things. I'm aware no one would believe me if I did," Suzuno replied with her monotone. "I wouldn't believe it either if I wouldn't have seen it for myself."

"My exact thoughts, Suzuno-san," Ashiya confirmed. "Even though I do believe those two deserve each other."

"Wakahisa-san is such a pretty girl, too. How on Earth did a rotten egg like him trick her into a relationship with him?" Yusa asked with her head tilted to the side. I turned to look at Urushihara, who's expression seemed to have gotten more and more annoyed during the others' conversation.

"Maybe he used a spell on her. What do you think, Yusa-dono? Should we investigate the situation?"

"Oy, Wakahisa-san. What are you doing with a guy like him? He's a demon. Demons are dangerous, you know. Even if he used to be an angel like you, he isn't one anymore. You should keep your distance," Yusa instructed.

"Eh... That's..." I stuttered.

"Demons are not rotten or dangerous, Hero! It's just your twisted view of the world that makes you say such things. I wish milord would slaughter you already," Ashiya argued.

"He would die trying!" Yusa threatened, seemigly ready to materialize her Holy Sword at any moment.

"Don't you underestimate Maou-sama!" Ashiya yelled back.

"Stay back, demon!" Suzuno joined in, taking Yusa's side in the battle.

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

…

Silence followed as Urushihara sighed and turned back to his computer. I looked at him a little startled. The last time I heard him yelling was during a call on the Skyphone.

"Look who's going through their rebellious phase again," Yusa said with narrowed eyes.

"He always yells at us when Wakahisa-san is around to hear it. Do you think he's trying to show off?" Ashiya held back a chuckle.

"Urushihara-dono, I do not believe Hana-dono has a thing for children," Suzuno added.

Their shared hate towards the NEET had joined the arguing bunch into a united force once more. It was almost admirable, really. Another sigh escaped Urushihara's lips before he started ignoring the three again.

* * *

My first day at work was on the next Monday, like I'd agreed with Kisaki. She handed me my uniform, which consisted of a red t-shirt, black skirt and a red MgRonald's cap. _Guess I'll get to wear _dashing_ red from now on, too._ We also did all the necessary paper work and agreed on my schedules and vacation days. After that she welcomed me into MgRonald's once more.

It was my first day, but I was put straight to the cash registers with Maou as my partner. Chiho was alright with the arrangement, since she knew I was already dating Lucifer and wouldn't try to make a move on Maou.

I stumbled at first, but the demon lord got me up to speed at my duties fairly quickly. He was a good and patient teacher and tried to be as considerate of my emotions as he could. It was so weird. He didn't pressure me like the teachers at Sasahata North or lecture me like Gina or Ayame. Somehow, I actually respected him.

At some point of the morning, when I'd somewhat gotten used to my position, something that I wasn't expecting happened. At first when the door to the fast food restaurant opened I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought I might've been hallucinating out of frie greese or something, but no – there he was. Sariel had walked through the doors and appeared in front of Maou at the cash register.

"Good morning, Sadao Maou-san~. How's your day so far?" he asked with his sugary tone and I blinked. _What is the manager of Sentucky Fried Chicken doing here?_

"Morning, Sarue-san..." Maou spoke a little reluctantly.

"My, my~, why such a grim expression?" Sariel asked without really looking at Maou. He was trying to see past him into the kitchen. "Say, is Kisaki-san here?" _Kisaki-san...? Wait... The Kisaki he was talking about that time is _that_ Kisaki?!_

Sariel's eyes moved from the kitchen to the left until they were fixated on me. I flinched at the eye-contact and turned to look at the cash register.

"Wakahisa-san? You became one of my beloved one's slaves, did you?" Sariel looked slightly surprised looking at me, even if only for a moment. The somewhat scary discussion I'd had with him in his car came back to me a little too lively. I could've handled a normal human of his sort, but Sariel, like me, was anything but normal.

"Eh, it would seem so..." I said and before I knew it, Sariel had slipped to my side of the register and leaned a little closer to me.

"Oh, what a shame! You would've made such a beautiful decoration at SFC. Why don't you consider changing jobs, hmm? We can afford to pay you more than this sad excuse of a-"

"Kisaki-san's at the back," Maou spoke with a stern voice, interrupting our "chat."

"Really~? Would you maybe consider asking her to come over? I'd really like to ask her to..."

"Yes, I'm aware of what you want. However, Kisaki-san is working and shouldn't be bothered unless there's something actually worth of calling the manager for," Maou said. Sariel had slipped to his side of the counter before I could blink.

"Isn't a job offer reason enough?" Sariel argued. The debate went on for quite a while before Maou had to send me to call Kisaki. She resolved the situation by making Sariel leave and apologizing for the trouble he'd caused us. It seemed the archangel had fallen for the manager of MgRonald's and was quite the bother when he wanted to be.

After working for some time it was time for our break. We were sitting in the break room with Chiho and a colleague I hadn't met before. He took something from his locker before leaving the break room and leaving the three of us alone.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you about Sariel. For some reason I thought he'd given up on trying to get to Kisaki for a while," Maou sighed and leaned against the table.

"It's fine... Even though it's... Uh... Odd," I admitted. "I mean, seeing an archangel act the way he did. Even if he has always had a quite questionable reputation."

"I can't stand him, to be honest... When he's not being a weird pervert he's just being annoying like a little child in a candy store. "Mum, can I have that? Why not?! But I want it!"" Chiho said and leaned back in her seat.

"That feels like an accurate description," I chuckled.

"Well, there's not much we can do to an annoying fly like him," Maou said. "The world doesn't have a swatter big enough to smash him." _One could say he's... too fly. _I held back a laugh. _I hate myself._

"Wouldn't everything be simpler if Kisaki-san would simply go out with him?" I questioned.

"You can't really force attraction," Maou replied.

"That's true. If Kisaki-san doesn't want anything to do with him, she shouldn't have to. I can't really blame her, considering what type of guy Sarue-san is," Chiho said. A short silence followed before she spoke again. "I'm gonna go back to work. Kisaki-san's gonna kill me if I take too long," she said and got up from her spot.

"That's right, you came here before us," Maou said.

"Yeah. Join me soon," Chiho said before walking out the door. Me and Maou stood in silence with Maou drinking his coffee and reading a magazine and me simply leaning against the table for a while. I noticed that Maou's hair looked slightly greenish in that lighting.

I stood up and took out my phone from my locker, checking my messages. There was one from Ayame complaining about how she messed up the orders of two tables, but besides that there was nothing. I sighed. I hadn't heard anything about Gina in a while.

"Wakahisa-san... Uh, actually, can I call you Hana-san from now on? We've known each other for a while now, anyway. But to what I was about to say: it's about your friend. About Matsuoka-san," Maou said.

"What about Gina-chan?" I asked, immediately sitting down at the table and putting away my phone.

"How should I put this... She's a nice girl, but..." Maou rubbed the back of his neck. "She's sort of hard to deal with."

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, fearing the worst.

"Well, she won't stop texting me, which wouldn't be such a bad thing if every text I sent back wouldn't cost me precious money. Ah, but that's not all. It's that she comes to my working place in a similar way to Sariel," Maou sighed.

"She does?" I asked, placing a hand on my forehead. "I'm sorry... She's known for being very resilliant."

"That's not all I wanted to talk about concerning her, either... In the end it's not that much about her, but about me. She doesn't know about us but she's still deeply involved in our matters. To be honest, I'm a little afraid for her. As our acquintance, she's in grave danger," Maou explained. "There really aren't many options in resolving the situation, if you know what I mean."

"Y-you mean I should tell her the truth?" I asked and fumbled with my thumbs. I'd always been thinking about telling her, but actually doing it seemed like a terrifying option.

"It's the only way to protect her from my enemies," Maou sighed. "The other option of course is cutting all ties with her, but I've understood she's a close friend of yours? I've also formed a friendship with her, so breaking ties with her now would be troublesome."

"She is a close friend... But to be honest, we haven't been speaking to each other in a while. We're sort of fighting over... something..." I cut myself off when I realized Maou was the thing we were fighting about.

"Oh, is that so? I'm sorry to hear that," Maou said. "However, you should try to make up with her or at least sit her down to discuss about things. It's the only conclusion this can really come to," he spoke with his serious tone.

"You're right, I suppose..." I half muttered and leaned my cheek against my palm.

"I'll go back to work, now. You should come when you've cleared your head," Maou said, his serious expression switched to that wide MgRonald's smile.

"Mmh." I nodded. Maou left the break room and left me with my thoughts.

_Tell Gina-chan the truth, huh?_

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Alrighty, so, I'll go straight to the things I need to talk to you about: Firstly, I got an awesome (by my standards awesome, to the rest of you it's probably pretty lame) idea for this story! I'm going through with it even if it's a somewhat unfinished thought, but yeah. You'll see what I mean.**

**Another thing, I have all the rest of the chapters planned out. This fic is going to have 31 chapters (and a rewrite later, I've decided since I've had so many great ideas), so we have nine more to go after this one! Are you excited?! I am!**

**Thank you so much for reading, hope you liked your extra long chapter! Please review (and all the other stuff), I love reviews!**


	24. Chapter 23 - Getting mixed into grey

**[A/N]**

**Heyy, here's your next chapter. The shortest one yet right after the longest one. X'D I'm sorry, I didn't have enough content planned to make this a long one. Maybe I could've added some more filler? We'll, this'll have to do. Hope you guys enjoy!**

**LifeOfTheLost:**** Oh my Gosh, you're being way too nice! *blushes* I don't think I'm deserving of compliments like these. Thank you so much, I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story! (I was all smiles for the rest of the day after reading your review ^^')**

* * *

Chapter 23 – Getting mixed into grey

At that moment I wasn't sure if it was a dream. For some reason it felt way too real to be imagination – the simple touch of a familiar hand sent shivers down my body. I looked deep into the cold eyes staring at me.

It was hard to tell where I was standing. Maybe a city... but then again, maybe a forest? I was holding onto a cold hand, but it slipped out of my grasp before I could react. I tripped and fell down, but how down exactly? I hit the ground and looked around me.

"_This is... my house?_" I blinked and tried to stand up.

* * *

"Wake up, Hana!" Ayame's voice called and my eyes shot open.

"Huh...? What is it...? I have a day off today..." I muttered and allowed the warmth around me to engulf me. I was just about to shut my eyes when I felt a familiar softness brush against my skin. "Uhh..." I looked to my side to see my wings out and tightly around my body. I hadn't even noticed they were out, it felt so natural.

"I was just about to leave for work when you suddenly shifted on your back and your wings came out," Ayame explained and crossed her arms. "Is everything alright?"

"Ohh... It must've been a dream or something... I think I was falling, so..." I yawned and sat up. As I did I noticed that the wings had ripped through the back of my pink t-shirt and the piece of clothing almost fell off me. I pressed it against my chest before it could happen.

"That might explain it," Ayame sighed. "Well, I'm heading out now. See you tonight," she said as she made her way to the door. The second she opened it, though, she jumped back a couple of steps. "KYAH!"

I turned to look what she was screaming at and found Urushihara standing in the doorway. He looked tired. His hair was more messed up than usual and his eyes had dark bags under them. Judging by the surprised look on his face he was just about to knock on our door.

"I thought you liked sleeping in..." Ayame said and rested a hand on her chest.

"I do..." the NEET replied with a worn out tone and made his way inside. Ayame looked at me for approval and I nodded. Then she left the apartment without another word and Urushihara watched as the door closed behind him.

"Why are your wings out...?" he asked the moment he laid his eyes on me. He probably would've noticed sooner if he wasn't so tired.

"I had a weird dream. Ayame-chan woke me up when they came out," I replied and stretched the wings slightly before hiding them again. "How are you already up?" I wondered and stood up, still holding the oversized, ripped shirt against my chest.

"It's more like I'm _still_ up rather than already," the NEET replied before heading for our fridge. "I was playing, but then I got hungry... There was no food in our apartment so I came here." He opened up the fridge and looked through it's contents without changing his expression.

"Ahh, that so?" I replied and released one of my hands to rub my eyes. Then I walked over to the closet to find myself another shirt. I took a quick glance at Urushihara, who'd moved from the fridge to our cabinets. He didn't seem interested in looking in my direction so I simply slipped out of my t-shirt and put on the new one there. Not that it would've mattered that much even if he saw me changing.

"You should've kept your wings out," Urushihara commented from the counters while pouring milk into a bowl of cereal. "You looked cute that way." I was sure he wouldn't have said that if he hadn't stayed up all night.

"I looked cute? _Do I know you?_" I questioned with a slight blush on my cheeks. I walked over to the trash can and threw the ripped t-shirt away.

"U-uhh..." he stuttered as he stuck a spoon into the bowl and sat down at the table to eat. "Couldn't that have been donated to somewhere? Some poor people could use it as a rag or something- wait, we're poor people. _You_ could be using it as a rag or something." I giggled at his reaction before pouring myself some cereal as well.

"Seriously, the economic choices of your roommates are sticking to you." I put away the milk before going to sit across from him at the table. "Sorry, it's not that I don't like compliments..." I said before taking my first bite.

"I'm not that fragile, you know?" Urushihara sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't like the you in the mornings."

"How mean~" I purred. We ate in silence for a while before I spoke again. "Maou told me to tell Gina-chan the truth about us," I said in a monotone similar to Urushihara's.

"I know, I heard," he replied without taking his eyes off the cereal.

"Of course you did," I chuckled. "So... what do you think about it?"

"Huh? What's there to think, really? It's the same thing that happened with Chiho Sasaki," he said nonchalantly. "I'm more surprised you haven't told her already."

"Well, it's not like I didn't plan to... at... some point... Maybe?" I stuttered and stared at a spoon full of cereal for a moment. "It's probably pretty obvious, but I... just don't want her to think differently of..." I stopped the sentence, since I didn't feel like voicing it would be necessary. I quickly looked at Urushihara to see he was raising a brow at me. _You don't have to point out my clichédness._

"Just tell her, you have nothing to lose at this point," he said and continued his eating. I nodded before taking another bite. "Seriously... You're always overthinking stuff..."

"Believe me, I know." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could even think. There was another silence before the conversation continued.

"Isn't Honda a waitress? Why is she going to work this early in the morning...? Most restaurants don't open until the afternoon... or at least like, ten o'clock," Urushihara questioned.

"I don't know, I didn't ask. Maybe she has something to do besides work," I replied with a blink. Urushihara was just about to say something when I heard a familiar noise. I received a text. I got up from my spot at the table and found my phone from somewhere around my futon, where my computer had also been lazily placed. I opened up the flip phone and stared at the screen for a moment. I almost couldn't believe my eyes.

**1 received message(s): Gina Matsuoka**

"It's from Gina-chan," I spoke with a slightly shocked tone of voice.

"What does it say?" Urushihara lifelessly asked from the table. I opened up the message and read through it.

_**Gina Matsuoka**_

**You might not be up at this time... Well maybe you are if you have work or something? Anyway, could we meet up? We need to talk. And... I'm sorry I've been avoiding you...**

A gasp escaped my lips after I'd read the text. _I was sure she hated me. _My fingers moved on their own as I wrote down the reply.

_**You**_

**I'm up, I don't have work today. We can meet up if you want to. I have another thing I wanna talk to you about, too.**

I sat down at the table and ate the rest of my cereal while waiting for a reply. When the text came I immediately opened up the phone again.

_**Gina Matsuoka**_

**You do? It's nothing serious, is it? I mean, I heard about you and Urushihara-kun dating already. Congrats, by the way. :)**

_**You**_

**Eh, it's not about that, but thanks. **

_**Gina Matsuoka**_

**Huh? What is it about, then? Ahh, well, you can tell me when we meet up. Can you be at MgRonald's in an hour?**

I stopped for a moment before writing my next message.

"Is Maou at work right now?" I asked Urushihara, who'd already finished his cereal and lazily dumped his plate into the sink.

"I think he has an evening shift today. He was sleeping when I left," he said before sitting next to me and lazily looking at my phone's screen.

_**You**_

**Wouldn't it be awkward? What if Chiho-chan's there?**

_**Gina Matsuoka**_

**It's fine, it's fine! But you'll be there in time, right?**

_**You**_

**...Sure. See you in an hour.**

I shut the lid of the phone and took the last bite of my cereal before dumping my plate into the sink as well. I took a deep breath and leaned against the counter. I couldn't help but allow a small smile to appear on my lips when I realized Gina didn't seem too mad at me anymore.

"I know you and Matsuoka were fighting, but was it really that serious? You seemed like a nervous wreck while texting her," Urushihara asked with his head slightly tilted to the side. "What were you even fighting about?"

"Ehh, stuff... you know... Well... Uh..." I twirled my thumbs around a bit nervously. "To be honest... she sort of has a crush on Maou." Urushihara blinked as his tired brain tried to handle the information given to it. Then he burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

"What the hell?! HAHAHAHAHA! Another one?" he spoke between laughs and held his stomach with one hand.

"Stop! You're being mean again!" I yelled with my face flushed red and picked up the cereal box from the counter, throwing it at him. The remaining cereal flew everywhere when the box hit his face. He stopped laughing when the box hit him and stared at me with wide eyes. "W-what?"

"Nothing," he said with a frighteningly soft smile. The smile was broken by a sigh. "Why are you so emotional about everything you encounter? I thought you were smarter than that."

"I'm not emotional..." I looked elsewhere when Urushihara decided to stare me down. "...Anyway, I don't think it's possible to forget about your emotions completely, no matter how smart you are. They're instinct, not logic," I argued. "Besides... I've never been really good with handling them. What can you do when your brain says one thing but your pounding heart the other? Most of the time it _hurts_ to follow your logic..." I stopped talking when I noticed the words were leaking out of my mouth without a plug. Why did it always happen with him?

"Honestly, you're such a mess," Urushihara sighed and stood up. He walked over to me and pulled me closer to him.

"Look who's talking, _fallen archangel turned demon general _Lucifer," I pointed out.

"Good point," he replied with a laugh before I pressed our lips together. Fortunately, this time the kiss stayed uninterrupted.

* * *

I closed the door to apartment 204 behind me and did one final check to see that I had my phone and wallet with me. I was wearing my black skirt with my black, ruffled t-shirt and a lime green belt that was hanging lazily around my hips. My long hair was in a messy ponytail and I was trying out a pink lipstick I'd bought at the mall some time ago.

I heard a door behind me open and turned around to see who it was. Like I'd guessed, it was Suzuno. She was wearing a kimono, like she usually does, and a small, old-fashioned purse was hanging from her arm. She noticed me immediately and offered me a wide smile (well, as wide as Suzuno's smile could be) when she walked up to me.

"Good morning, Hana-dono. How are you up so early?" she asked. Since we were both obviously heading out, we left the building together. I opened and held the door for her, letting her exit first.

"Ayame woke me up," I simply said and exited after her. "Are you going to the store?"

"Indeed I am. I need to buy my weekly groceries," she explained as she walked down the stairs with me on her tail. "And where are you headed? To work, perhaps?"

"No, I'm meeting up with Gina-chan at MgRonald's," I replied with a smile. I reached the bottom of the stairs and we automatically continued walking together.

"Well, that means we'll be going a part of the way to the same direction," the cute girl said.

"Yeah, it would seem so. So, what's up? Any evil activity from the demons next door?" I chuckled. Hopefully she didn't understand that I meant it mostly as a joke.

"Nothing out of the ordinary..." Suzuno said. "I'm sorry if this is a little personal, but... Can I ask about the relationship you have with Lucifer?" I blinked in confusion.

"Knock yourself out."

"Ehh...?"

"I meant go for it," I said with an awkward smile. It was almost too easy to forget she didn't grasp the modern world the same way the rest of us did.

"Ah. Yes. So... How serious are you?" she asked with her monotone, making it hard for me to deduct exactly what she was trying to get to.

"I, ehh, I really like being with him... As weird as it might sound," I admitted and avoided eye-contact with the other girl.

"But... If there were to be a case of Satan trying to conquer this world with brute force, which, I have to admit, is a very small possibility... but _if_ there were such a case and Lucifer would take his side-"

"...where would my loyalty lie?" I finished the sentence for her. She nodded. "Well, we already explained we can't go against Lucifer in the first place. He still has power over us."

"Yes, but the situation was different then. Then you would've certainly taken the Hero's side even if you couldn't do much. Now we're not sure anymore," Suzuno said with a serious expression. "If it ever comes to that, we need to know which side you'll be taking."

"B-but I've understood you've been working together a lot more lately. I don't understand why there needs to be such conflict," I replied. I knew my points were useless in the argument, but to be honest, I wasn't sure how to respond.

"It's only temporary. We only had a couple of common enemies, nothing more," Suzuno assured. I wasn't sure which one of us she was trying to assure, though. "Listen... I've understood you're running low on your supply of celestial magic?" _Oh, that's right... Oh... wait. _Suddenly I realized I'd left Urushihara sleeping on my futon. With the bottles of Holy Vitamin Beta in the same room. I hoped from the bottom of my heart he didn't suddenly get the whim of looking inside our closet.

"Yeah?" I gulped.

"Emilia told me she wouldn't be sending you the next box until you've decided on your side," the girl explained with her monotone.

"That sounds fair," I simply replied and clutched onto the strap of my bag.

"Mmh." There was a short silence between us.

"...Suzuno-san?"

"What is it?" she asked with her eyes widened.

"What do you think about the current situation? Demons, angels and humans living... in... well, harmony is the best word I can come up with. Isn't it... weird?" I asked. "When I lived in Heaven I... I was made to believe all demons are evil. It's the same for humans, right? But... after meeting Satan, Alciel and... Lucifer, it's... It's hard to believe that's all there is to it." Suzuno took a pause before her answer.

"Honestly, I do not know. The situation has been very much nothing but shades of grey since we arrived into this world. I'd only seen one side of demons and angels. I never thought I'd end up fighting beside the demons and against the holiness of angels. It's bizarre to say the least." It was obvious she was slightly reluctant to give her answer.

"I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked that," I replied.

"It's quite alright. I've been thinking about it, and it's even harder from me to tell the black from white now then it was before," she admitted. "What is your opinion on the matter?"

"I- well, I haven't really ever had a proper concept of good and bad. I don't think I believe those really even exist," I chuckled. "What a deep subject we're on..."

"Indeed. Ah, but I'm turning right here," Suzuno pointed to her direction when we suddenly came into another crossing.

"Oh, I'll see you later then, I guess," I said and waved as soon as she started walking away from me.

"Tell my regards to Matsuoka-dono," Suzuno said before crossing the street.

"I will," I replied with a smile as she left. I turned to my own direction and let out a deep sigh while heading forward.

_I guess my relationships are causing problems for everyone. I'm not going to break up with him, I'm sure about that. I hope Ayame won't be too bitter about this._

I glanced up to see the familiar burger place only a short walk away. A smile spread on my lips.

_At least I get to settle things with Gina-chan now. And... and then... _

I eyed the tarmac for a moment. I almost forgot for a moment that I had other things to speak to her about.

_She's going to hate me for su-_

Suddenly my heart skipped a beat and my pupils shrunk into tiny dots. I was trying to scream but the voice desperate to escape was blocked. Everything went remarkably darker when I suddenly felt someone grab me from behind and forcefully drag me away.

* * *

**[A/N] **

**#sorrynotsorry**

**Please review, honeybuns? ^^ See you in the next chapter!**


	25. Chapter 24 - The secrets of thy heart

**[A/N]**

**Hello, my little meowies! Here is a new, extra-long chapter for you. X3 Things are getting interesting, ne?**

**LifeOfTheLost: Sometimes my updates are quick. :D Depends on my writing mood, really. And, yeah, I didn't think he would comment on her shirt for multiple reasons.**** Thanks for your continuing patronage! ...or something along those lines. ^^'**

* * *

Chapter 24 – The secrets of thy heart

_What is going on?! _My heart was beating so fast it was hard to tell that it was still indeed beating. It was hard to breathe and every part of my body was trying to fight against the arms pulling me away. It was no use, my strenght was nothing compared to the one dragging me. I gave up for a while to strategize, but then I heard a voice nearby.

"_Hey, what's going on?_" the strange voice called. "_What are you doing to that girl?! Let her go!_"

"_Ah, I'm sorry – I didn't mean to scare any passerbyes,_" another voice replied. I was certain it was the voice of my captor, but... it sounded... _familiar_. The captor released his grasp on me and I automatically pulled away from him.

"I don't care if you let her go now, I'm still calling the police," the male voice said and I turned to look at my saviour. He was an ordinary japanese guy tapping at his smartphone, ready to call help.

"I think you got the situation wrong, sir. I have no intention of hurting _Hana-san_," the familiar voice spoke and I turned to face him. _Hana-san...? _My pupils shrunk once more as I stared at the man in front of me.

"_Phan...?_" My voice was barely a whisper, but the man next to me was still able to hear it.

"Wait – you know each other?" the man asked with suspicion, holding his finger above the call-button.

"We do. We haven't met in quite a while and I was just trying to shake up my friend a little," the supposed angel spoke with a wide smile. "Isn't that right, Hana-san?" The smile on the tall angel's face went from ear to ear and I had no doubt it belonged to him. I felt my breath starting to shake a little when the realization hit me. He was there. He was _alive_. I felt my eyes slowly starting to water, even if I resisted it with all my might.

"Phan..." I shrieked as I threw myself against the tall male and hanged from his neck. The chestnut haired angel chuckled awkwardly as he held me up from my upper back.

"As you can see, there's nothing to worry about," Phan said to the man behind me. I didn't care too much about him anymore. I was overcome with emotion and allowed myself to cry against his shoulder.

"Ehh, I can see that... But you should really work on your behaviour in public places. You'll get in trouble," the man scolded.

"Sorry about that," Phan replied as the man left us alone. I slid down to the ground and wiped my eyes from tears, only now noticing that the other angel had dragged me into a closed up alleyway. "Feeling any better yet?"

"I... I thought that... you might've..." My voice cracked as I tried my best to finish the sentence.

"But here I am, alive and well," the male chuckled and patted my head like I was a dog. I swallowed the rest of my embarrassing emotions and tried to calm my heartbeat. I took a moment to gather my thoughts and study the person standing in front of me.

His face was the same as always, very calm and angelic in a way. His chestnut hair reached his shoulders, but was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head, revealing his facial features a little better. He was wearing loose jeans, sneakers and a casual hoodie with a logo for a... _A coffee shop, I think?_

Some things about him besides his clothes had also changed. He seemed much less invisible now and he had a somewhat more muscular build. His eyes also carried a sharpness I wasn't familiar with. But all those things aside he was still the angel I knew back in Heaven. He was still Phan.

"So... cat got your tongue?" the male joked to play off the awkward silence.

"I-I have so many things to say I don't know where to start," I stuttered. "Like, when did you come here? How did you find me? What happened before you got here?"

"Ahh, that's an interesting story to say the least..." Phan struggled to give me a proper answer. "But... let's start with the fact that I've actually been here for a while now."

"How did you end up here?" I asked.

"Well, you see... The war ended with the demon lord escaping through a magic portal. After that the demon army retreated and we were free to leave. We were aware that you and Audiana disappeared from Heaven much earlier, so I decided to go and find you – since the war was over and all, I didn't see why you two couldn't come back," Phan slowly explained. I bowed my head in shame, fiddling with my clothes and avoiding eye-contact with him.

"That's right, we left you alone to fight... I'm so, so sorry..." I spoke, my voice cracking again.

"Oh, it's alright. I think we somewhat drove you to that," the male chuckled. "And I'm sure Audiana just wanted to protect you or something." I raised my head and looked at him like a mentally disabled person.

"But we left you to _die_," I emphasized. "You were _furious_ when I started skipping practise, remember?"

"I _know_. Don't _remind me_," Phan spoke in a much colder tone, making shivers go down my spine. I didn't press the matter anymore and he switched his expression into a smile. "I'm just happy you're alive."

"Same," I replied with a partly fake smile. I felt like I'd overstepped a line somewhere and it scared me. "So... how did you find me?"

"Uh, well... I had the portal you used reopened and followed it to Tokyo. After that it was sheer luck that I spotted you in the streets one day," he explained. "I almost couldn't believe it was real."

"Neither could I," I confirmed with a wistful smile. "Why didn't you come to speak with me right then and there?"

"Well, I had some things to do and figure out before we could officially meet up... I wanted it to be like a surprise or something. I'm sorry."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence before either of us dared to speak. The first one to break the silence was me, bringing up the question I wasn't sure I wanted to talk about.

"...About... Flemm and... Sal..." I chose my words carefully, trying to avoid eye-contact once more.

I knew something was wrong when the silence that had been previously set up continued. The air felt heavy and my breathing was getting harder again. I searched the tarmac under my feet for support.

"What about them?" Phan asked with a broken smile. That's when I knew for certain.

"They're dead... aren't they?"

The air seemed to go from heavy to unbearably leaden, pushing me to my knees. There were no words needed. The silence confirmed my fears. I slowly raised my eyes from the tarmac to face Phan. The expression I got in response made me choke on my breath.

His eyes were cold and distant, but there was still a faint smile on his lips. In an instant he had turned from the friendly angel I knew to something completely else: A creature that had been torn apart by unspoken horrors.

"So that's how it is..." I directed my gaze to the ground and leaned a part of my weight on my arms. I was ready for it. I had been expecting it. No matter how much I'd prepared for it, my body wouldn't stop shivering – but even though my whole body was under great shock, I couldn't force out even a single tear. Maybe it was due to my crying earlier.

"That's... how it is," Phan confirmed with a shaky voice.

"How... How did it happen?" I asked, not moving from my spot on the ground.

"Funny you should ask," the male angel begun with an unstable tone. "It's a funny story, really. Haha. You know how some people die for a great cause, trying their very best and will be remembered as heroes?" I moved my eyes from the tarmac to Phan. "Besides the heroes and great demon lords there are soldiers. A bunch of soldiers no one remembers nor speaks about. They fought and died as such."

"Please... Could you tell me how? Please," I pleaded as carefully as I could. I knew those memories must've been beyond painful to him. Phan swallowed before continuing.

"Flemm... Sal... They died for nothing. They died by a simple miscalculation in our attack plans. A single thing went wrong, so near to the end of the war. So _fucking_ near," the male stuttered. "A single thing. A single... teammate." My eyes widened at his words and my hands instinctively rose to my chest. _He couldn't mean..._

"...our flier. You see, Drea, our flier... wasn't... really that good, to be honest," Phan explained, his tone getting more and more violent with every word. "You want me to dig to the back of my memories for the horrid scenario of the woman I loved getting shred into pieces? Fine, I'll do that for you."

"Just say it already," I demanded with a slightly colder tone of voice.

"Ahh, that's you right there. I was wondering where you'd been, Drea," Phan laughed with his eyes slowly watering. "I'm sorry, I'll stop avoiding the question now," he said, pausing before starting the story.

"Like I already said, the war had nearly ended. The Church was nearing victory and soldiers had gotten slightly more confident in slaying demons. Me and the rest of our team weren't the best killers out there, but we'd beaten our share of opponents.

"At one point we got stuck into an area full of demons. We weren't sure how we'd even gotten there and where the rest of the soldiers around had gone, but we were alone and trapped between monsters. That's when Flemm came up with a risky plan to find our way out.

"The plan relied on each and every one of our individual strenghts. Flemm was supposed to break us a way through the demons with Sal's support while I was supposed to fight off any demon that caught us from behind. The scanning of the area was left to our flier.

"The plan started out just fine, even though none of us felt particularly confident. We made our way almost out of that hellhole with partial stealth when... When our flier suddenly got overly confident and decided to get closer to the ground to slay some demons. That was a grave mistake.

"An average strenght demon jumped from one of the trees surrounding us to the back of the flier and since he wasn't that talented with quick turns he was at the mercy of the demon. Sal, who was supposed to be covering Flemm, couldn't help herself and flew up to try and save the flier. That's when everything really went downhill.

"Before we even knew it, a spear out of nowhere had pierced through Flemm's chest. None of us could really even tell what had happened in that moment, but I was sure it was because he was without cover. Sal, who was still up in the sky trying to help our flier got distracted and called after the already dead Flemm. That's when..." Phan was trying to steady his breath.

"That's when the demon on our fliers back attacked Sal from behind, killing both her and our flier. I was shocked and could do nothing but stand there. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was skill, but most of the demons didn't notice me at that moment. When they finally did, I had already recovered from the shock and managed to get away.

"That's pretty much it... After that I found a camp of our side and heard that Satan had escaped through a portal. The war had ended without us even knowing it. With them... dying for nothing."

After the story ended there was some more silence between us. I had reverted back to staring at the ground and my hands were squeezed into tight fists.

"Phan..." I spoke through my teeth.

"STOP...! Stop... calling me that," Phan yelled, his arms flailing in the air, describing his boiling emotions.

"Why?" I asked with no strenght, looking at him from the corner of my empty eye.

"Because that's not my name. It never was. It's just a nickname given to me by others," the male spoke with his voice cracking. I blinked, raising my head from the ground once more.

"Then... What is your name?"

"..."

"Phan... _Who are you?_" I asked, getting up on my feet and taking a step back from the male. The silence between us was broken by a chuckle and I watched as a wicked smile spread across my former comrade's face.

"You saw through me, didn't you?" he chuckled, placing a hand against his forehead. "That's right, I'm not an ordinary soldier. You guessed it. Are you happy now?" I stayed silent, not sure how to respond. I knew something was off, but this? "It's silly. I wasn't supposed to be fighting in a stupid war of humans and demons. I wasn't supposed to play all nice with you and the rest. I wasn't supposed to fall for Sal, either. It just... happened."

"I repeat myself. Who. _The fuck_. Are. You?" I practically yelled.

"You know, you really have changed. Back then you wouldn't have cared. Back then you would've simply closed yourself off from everything and walked away. But now? Now you care. You actually truly care, don't you?"

"You're dodging my questions again," I replied, taking another step back. The aura emitting from the person in front of me didn't belong to my old friend. It was something completely else.

"Am I? I guess it really becomes a habit in situations like these," the male spoke. "I'm sorry, I've been terribly impolite. Let me introduce myself – I'm Forcas, a humble spy of the archangels of Heaven," Phan stated with a model bow.

"For...cas?" I repeated the name with care. A not-so-rare name among angels, one I'd certainly heard before.

"Yes. Nice to meet you, Drenumi, a runaway angel and a traitor of Heaven's army," he spoke, taking a few threatening steps closer to me. I would've backed farther away if my back wouldn't have hit the wall already.

"A spy of the archangels? You're... serious? What the hell were you doing with low-ranking angels like me?" I questioned in disbelief, trying my best to swallow the fear welling inside my stomach and throat. The male stepped right in front of me, leaning one of his arms over me and against the wall.

"You don't have to believe me if you don't want to. Also, if you want more answers, you don't have to get them from me. You know quite a few archangels now, don't you?" Forcas spoke with a soft, uncomfortable tone. "I'm sure you can't trust my word anymore. Besides, why would I tell anything to the person who indirectly caused the death of Sal? The death of _my_ Sal?"

"What are you going to do now, kill me?" I asked, both hands on my chest again. I felt like my heart was going to beat right through it if they weren't there.

"Haha! Like I'd give you such an easy way out of this. No. I want to see you suffer. I've kept an eye on you for some time now and I've found out that you've got a pretty nice life for yourself here, hmm? I'm jealous," the male spoke in a simply disgusting tone. "Don't worry, I'm no match for your new friends. I couldn't tear them apart if I wanted to – well, with a couple of exceptions, but that isn't enough for me. Besides, I know I don't have to do anything. In time, you'll destroy your own life all by yourself. That's what you always end up doing." That's when I shoved him away, even if it was only by a few centimeters, and faced away from him.

"Sal's death made you become this hateful towards me? Don't you realize that I cared about her as well? About Flemm, too?" I spoke in response.

"Well, you did, but they're dead now. They don't care._ I_ don't care. Right now... I just need to see someone else suffer more than I have," he smirked. "And believe me, that's a lot."

"Is that all you wanted to talk about? After all this time?" I asked, staring at the ground below my feet.

"Yes, that's all. Oh, and, when you go to your friends for answers... I don't suggest you go to Lucifer. You're not going to get anything out of that guy."

"What do you mean by that...?" I asked, turning around to face him.

"What I said," he said with a shrug. "Now... Why don't you go and live your lovely life while it lasts?" There were no words to describe how I felt. Everything was a giant mess in my head. I was so happy, but then everything was turned upside down and inside out in a matter of minutes.

I turned away from the male angel and took a deep breath. I headed out of the alleyway with my face expressionless, hearing the silent echo of his laughter following me on my way.

* * *

I had completely stopped on my footing in the middle of the sidewalk. I stared at the tarmac with empty eyes and sometimes saw a random person passing by from the corner of my eye. What had just happened?

My past was back, it was haunting me. It was taking a turn for the worse every moment. My friends were either dead or had gone crazy with grief. That wasn't the whole story, either. Phan – no, _Forcas_ was a spy of the archangels. But for what purpose? What was is that I failed to see?

I raised my eyes from the tarmac to look at the two fast food places on both sides of the street, trying to hold back a laugh. It was funny. It was like the restaurants were representing my past and current lives. From angels to humans and from humans to demons. My path certainly had been a lively one, much more lively than I ever would've allowed it to be.

"Flemm..." I whispered in despair. "Why did you make me join the army again?"

I turned to look at the MgRonald's on my left side and tried to see if Gina was there yet. I scanned through all the tables, but she wasn't there. _In the end she's the one who's late, huh? _I stood there for a moment before turning to look at the Sentucky Fried Chicken across the road. I stood there and thought about it for a moment before digging out my phone and sending a text to Gina.

_**You**_

**Hey, Gina-chan. I noticed you weren't at MgRonald's yet, so I took the liberty of going on another errand. I wanna talk, but can we move it a bit? Suddenly I'm not up for it...**

I put away my phone and turned to look at the SFC again. _I have to know. _I crossed the street and somehow made my way into the fast food place. I pushed through the people and all the way to the registers, skipping the line without a second thought.

"Excuse me, miss, but you're gonna have to stand in line-"

"I need to talk to the manager," I spoke with a monotone voice, ignoring the resistance that I immediately met.

"For what purpose, miss?" the cashieer questioned, obviously annoyed.

"Just let me talk to Sari- Sarue-san. It's important," I simply said. The cashieer looked at me for a moment before giving out a loud sigh. He didn't seem to be very good at his job – if it would've been Maou at the register, he would've handled the matter much more professionally.

The cashieer told someone to fetch Sarue while he continued taking the orders with a hint of annoyance still present in his tone of voice.

It didn't take long for Sariel to appear from the back of the store. The moment his employee pointed at me a wide, devious smirk spread across his face and he moved from behind the register to direct me to the back of the store.

"Well, did you finally decide to switch jobs~?" Sariel spoke with his annoying, flirty tone as he sat down on his office chair. His office wasn't large, but the space was well managed and made it look very comfortable to work in. "I'm happy you came, really. I'm always more than delighted to receive a new, beautiful employee," he flirted as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Ah, would you like some?"

"No, thanks," I replied with my eyes glued to the table.

"Hmm, not a coffee person?" he asked as he put away the coffee pot and took a sip of his coffee. "Well then, if you are to become an employee of SFC, we need to do some paperwork, and-"

"I'm not here for a job. I have one already," I said, still not taking my eyes off the table.

"Huh? What a shocker! I was certain you'd see my appeal at this point~" Sariel exclaimed. "Ah, well. Then what are you here for, my dearest Wakahisa-san~?" he asked, capturing my hands in his own on the table.

"I'm sorry, I feel like that kind of thing is inappropriate. I'm in a relationship," I spat out like a machine, pulling my hands away from his.

"What a disappointment!" he complained, taking his coffee cup back into his emptied hands. "So, who's the lucky guy~?" he asked, taking another sip of the dark, bitter liquid.

"Lucifer."

That's when Sariel spat out the coffee he'd been drinking and coughed a couple of times before steadying his breathing.

"What? For real?" he asked with both of his brows raised. "That was unexpected..."

"I'm not here for that, either. I'm here because I have questions I want answered," I said, finally making eye-contact with the archangel. His eyes widened for a moment.

"My, my, what a fierce stare you have, Wakahisa-san~. I'm almost scared," he said, his eyes narrowing mischievously. "Well, spit out what you have in mind, darling."

"Who's Forcas?" I immediately asked. Sariel tilted his head slightly to the side, a mischievous smile that matched his eyes decorating his features.

"Why, I know many angels that go by that name... Which one are we talking about?" I gritted my teeth in annoyance.

"Long, chestnut hair and bluish purple eyes. Tall for an angel. His steps are so light it's easy to mistake him for a phantom," I spoke with a monotone voice. "He's also a spy of the archangels. You must know the guy." Sariel leaned back in his seat with a thoughtful expression.

"Ahh, I just might. What about him?" he said, obviously knowing something I didn't.

"What was or _is_ his mission? Why was he sent to train with low-ranking angels and asked to hide his identity? Why was he placed into the war with unexperienced soldiers?"

"Well, that's quite a lot of questions. Are you sure you want all of them answered?" Sariel questioned with an arrogant chuckle.

"Please."

"Hmm..." The blue-haired archangel leaned his chin against his hands, supporting himself with his elbows. "I suppose he's one of _them._"

"_Them_?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to the side. "Care to explain a little more?"

"Yes, of course. You see, sometimes the higher ups decide to place some more experienced soldiers among low-ranked ones to spy on their potential. Those soldiers collect and deliver data of the most promising angels," Sariel explained. "I don't know why he joined the war willingly or why he chose to hide his identity through it all, though. Maybe there was something or someone he wanted to protect?" he suggested. _Sal_, I immeaditely thought.

"It's... that simple?" I asked in disbelief. "You're speaking the truth right now, right?"

"Wakahisa-san... You seem a little beat. Do you even know how you made it into my office in the first place?" Sariel asked, completely ignoring my previous statement. "It seems like you've gone through something hard to handle today. Maybe you should simply go home to your mate and rest."

"Ehh... Well, I..." I stared at the floor for a moment.

"Please, Wakahisa-san. You'll be doing a favor for yourself. Trust me for once~" Sariel chirped and got up from his chair to pull me towards the door. "Go on now and get some rest!"

"W-wait...!" I yelled, but my efforts were in vain. Sariel pushed me out of his office and locked the door separating us. "...Ugh." I had to admit it, the blue-haired freak of an angel was right. A heavy load had just been weighed on my shoulders and I wasn't sure how I could even manage to carry it yet.

I sighed and walked out of the SFC with a tired expression.

* * *

I exited the Sentucky Fried Chicken with my eyes on the tarmac and missing the light they'd been emitting for the past few days. I was depressed, tired and... Well, I wasn't sure how I could've best described the feeling, but my chest felt tight and I sort of felt like throwing up. It was different from any feeling of sadness I'd felt before. It _hurt _much more.

I kept walking down the street, but I couldn't force myself to take that many steps. I stopped very near the SFC, taking a few unsure looks at it. Could I really trust the word of Sariel?

At some point my legs simply gave out and I had to put all of my weight against a nearby wall. I didn't know how long I stood there, staring at the ground, but I didn't feel the need to move. My body wasn't shaking or shivering, it was just limp. Did I miss Flemm and Sal more than I first had thought?

* * *

**_Then_**

* * *

"Who the hell are you?" I asked from the male standing several meters below me.

"Woah, no need to be alarmed. I won't bite," the male angel with flaming red hair spoke.

"Whatever. Just go die," I exclaimed from my high rock and leaned back to look at the sky. I heard the guy laughing down on the field, but didn't really care.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just, you're really cute," the redhead spoke. I turned on my stomach and looked down to him again.

"Like I care."

"Yeah, I agree. There's no reason to care about me," he chuckled and sat down on the grass. I was curious of his lenient attitude, but not curious enough to make anymore contact with him. So we just sat there, in the sunny weather, in complete silence.

The wind blew softly against my skin and the sun warmed it nicely. It was one of those perfect days again. There were hardly any clouds in the sky and the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold.

Hours passed with me and the redheaded guy simply laying in the sun. I think he might've even fallen asleep at some point, but it was none of my concern. I simply laid on my back and rested my own eyes for a moment.

When I opened my eyes again, however, there was something I wasn't expecting to see in my field of vision.

"Hey there," the redhead spoke. He was standing on top of me with his wings out, leaning over me and putting our faces so close together our noses almost touched. I of course got scared of such an act and let out a very feminine shriek.

"KYAH! What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled, pushing him on his ass. He thumped unpleasantly against the hard rock and yelped as he fell.

"Ow! You didn't need to be so harsh," the redhead chuckled.

"You didn't need to be so rude and get all touchy-touchy with me," I complained.

"I didn't even lay a finger on you!"

"That's not what I meant! Please honor my personal space."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he laughed. After that a short silence followed.

"So, who the hell are you, then?" I sighed. "You didn't tell me earlier."

"Ahh, I didn't? I'm sorry. My friends call me Flemm," the redhead said and proudly pointed to his chest.

"I'm surprised you have any of those..."

"That's cold! Anyway, I told you my name. What's yours?"

"..."

"If you're not gonna tell, I'm gonna guess until I get it right. My guesses are usually pretty terrible, you know."

"...It's Drenumi."

"Haha, I would've never gotten that. Drea, then?"

"I didn't give you a permission to nickname me," I said with a monotone voice. "So, why'd you come and bother me while I was obviously relaxing?"

"I thought I told you already. I mean, it was like hours ago, but still."

"Huh?"

"I told you, you're cute. I want you to become my mate."

"...Huh?! No way, freak!"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not interested in finding a mate," I sighed. My eyes were narrowed as I stared down the male. He seemed a little dumbfounded looking at me. "What?"

"Oh, it's just that most girls would've said "because we only just met.""

"Sorry to disappoint," I yawned.

"No, it's fine," the guy calling himself Flemm replied with a chuckle. "Hey, if you don't want to become my mate, why don't we become friends?"

"...Seriously, what is wrong with you? I'm not interested in your company."

"Reeaally now? Is that why you were sitting here all alone?"

"..." I looked away from the male.

"What were you doing here?"

"Well... Nothing, really. I don't really have a place to be, so I just... fly around."

"I know this sounds really, uh, weird and annoying to you but, why don't we start flying together from now on?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I just thought since you only fly by yourself and I only fly by myself, why couldn't we as well do that together?" the redhead spoke with a stupid, wide smile. "And you know, maybe someday we'll become mates."

"What's up with you and all the "mates"-stuff?!" I exclaimed. Flemm burst out into uncontrollable laughter before finally laying a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said between laughs. "But you know, I really like your green hair. It reminds me of spring grass." He grabbed one of my light green locks and studied it with utmost curiosity. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine!"

"...Fine."

After that fateful meeting with one of my future most precious friends we started to hang out together much more. With time, we became unseparable. My cold and sarcastic nature didn't fit his outgoing and fun one at all, but that didn't stop him from trying to catch my attention all the time. He was my closest and only friend. The only person with access to my heart.

Many human years later Flemm threw the suggestion of joining into the army on the table and I, as stupid as I was then, agreed. In the army I met Sal and Phantom, whom I had a hard time getting along with at first. In time Sal and I got closer, however. She and Phan had become an important part of my every day life even if I hadn't realized it yet.

The army was a place for determined warriors, but it went without saying that I wasn't one. I was lazy and always underachieved at everything. For some odd reason I wasn't kicked out of the army and had to keep training under my group leader, the strict Audiana.

The army really did a number on me. Even if I had potential on many fields I only enjoyed flying. Sal always kept pressuring me to do more while Flemm tried to motivate me with his laid-back ways. Phan didn't seem to care too much about whether I did work or not and was always nice to me. Always... Before the war.

Those people, my friends... I wasn't sure what to think about them. When I shut myself into my house and Flemm came to knock, I never answered. He never let himself in without my permission, but maybe he should've.

_Flemm..._

* * *

**_Now_**

* * *

_Flemm..._

I was still standing there, lifeless. My eyes had moved from the tarmac to the sky, but my expression was still the same. My body still felt too limp to move.

I thought I heard footsteps nearing me from the side and soon it was accompanied by heated chatter. I would've moved my head to see who was making such noise if I could've. I didn't have to wonder too long, though.

"Well, well, well – what do we have here," spoke the judging voice of Etsuko. "I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again, Hana-san." I forced my head to move so I could see Etsuko and the group of teenagers she was leading. _Why now...?_

"E-Etsuko..." I managed to stutter as a response.

"No need to speak, they know of your crimes," Etsuko said and pointed to the teens behind her. I looked through their faces. Some of them looked familiar, but most were complete strangers to me. The only ones I had actually spoken to were Nobuko and her roommate.

"Hana-san! I heard terrible things about you!" Nobuko exclaimed with her hands squeezed into fists. _What do you want from me? _

"That's right! There's rumors that you've been spreading terrible stories about poor Nobuko-san around town! Is that true?" one of the girls inquired. _...What are you talking about?_

"That's right. You shouldn't be gossiping about a sweet girl like her," one of the guys spoke.

_Who... are you people?_

"Hana-san... What ever did I do to you? I was only ever nice to you and this is how you repay me?!" Nobuko shrieked.

_What the hell... are you talking about?_

"Hana-san, this is what you get for being a bad girl. Gossip is _never_ good," Etsuko spoke.

_My friends... Sal... Flemm... They're dead._

"Honestly, every time I trust a guy something terrible happens... And now even girls do that to me..." Nobuko spoke on verge of tears.

_Shut up..._

"You really thought you'd get away with it when school ends? Looks like you were wrong," one of the guys said.

_Shut up..._

"Seriously, what the fuck? You have no right to make up such awful things about Nobuko-san. She deserves better than to be called a whore," another guy said.

_Shut up._

"Honestly, I'm sort of surprised you even came up with the idea of spreading gossip about her..." the words the group spoke became more and more of an uncomprehensible mess to me. I kept yelling at them inside my head, but they wouldn't shut up.

Then, all of a sudden, the whole world seemed to freeze for a millisecond. Bluish purple eyes stared at me from the other side of the street. There was a smile on his lips. A smile I'd never wished to see.

_That's right..._

I turned my attention from him to the group in front of me. More specifically, to Etsuko.

_People are..._

Images of the faces I knew came to mind one by one. Gina, Sariel, Flemm, Sal, Phan, Ayame, Urushihara, Chiho, Emi, Maou, Ashiya, Suzuno, me.

_Selfish..._

And that's when I saw the horrified looks of people for the first time in my short, miserable life.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Well... Hehe. What do you think is going to happen? It doesn't look good at least, does it? D:**

**Sorry if you found anything weird in the text. I wrote this while I was really, really tired. It helps with the flow of text for me but it can also easily lead to huge mistakes.**

**Hope you liked this chapter and I wish you'll review! ^^**


	26. Chapter 25 - Dying is a solution

**[A/N]**

**This chapter was supposed to come out earlier, but I sort of avoided writing it, because I knew it was gonna be a pain. XD Hope you guys enjoy it anyway!**

**LifeOfTheLost:**** Thanks for your kind words again! :3 I try my best to make this fic readable, ahahaha... I don't know about the reviews... Maybe I'm so amazing I leave people speechless?! :0 (Yeah, that's not it...) Thanks anyway. :'3**

* * *

Chapter 25 – Dying is a solution

My body was shivering all over.

I simply stood there, pinned against a wall by vicious looks and hateful words thrown at me. My eyes weren't at the faces before me, though. They were at the person standing behind them, on the other side of the road.

Once so friendly purple eyes had welcomed me with a smile as their partner in crime. Those eyes weren't there anymore. There was a look of someone broken beyond complete repair. There were the eyes of bloodlust.

I took my eyes off him and slowly faced the tarmac below my feet.

_That's right... People are selfish..._

There was something welling inside me I couldn't recognize. A feeling, power beyond anything I ever thought I'd get to feel. My heartbeat was raising and my hands were shaking. I looked at them and felt my eyes watering.

_Who cares if I'm weak? Who cares if I'm selfish? I don't. That's right, I don't care. It's obvious I've forgotten that. I don't care. I don't care. I DON'T FUCKING CARE._

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I yelled as I squeezed my hands into fists. I was still leaning against the wall and my eyes were back at the tarmac. A short silence followed my sudden scream.

"...What the hell is up with you? Can't handle the consequences of your little missteps?" Etsuko asked, hiding her shaken form. No one I knew was used to me getting angry.

"_Little_?!" Nobuko exclaimed at the brunette.

"YES, little!" I yelled as I parted my eyes from the ground to face the group before me. Their eyes widened when they looked at me. I stared back at them without fail. My expression was calm and I slowly parted from the wall to stand on my own two feet.

"...Hana?" Etsuko spoke carefully. "Don't start anything you'll regret, now..."

"Oh, you don't care if I'll regret it or not..." I spoke with a broken smile and tilted my head to the side.

"Perhaps not, but you do..." the brunette replied. I took a step closer to her only to see her back away a bit. I stopped and looked at her. Was I really that intimidating? It was so funny, me getting the upper hand of the girl whose social status always kept me on my toes.

"Wanna know a strange fact?" I asked, tilting my head to the side again. "I really, really don't," I added with a chuckle. After that I grabbed her throat with one hand.

"HANA-SAN!" Nobuko yelled and the rest of the group kept yelling at me as well.

"You're annoying, please shut up," I requested as I blasted the kids ten meters back. Etsuko's eyes widened even farther in my grip when she laid eyes on her friends.

"W-what... H-how did y-you...?!" she struggled to speak. I tightened my grip to better get her attention. She shrieked out of pain.

"I never really liked you, you know," I said with a monotone voice before throwing the girl in my grasp to the ground. She supported herself with her hands and coughed when the air was granted passage to her lungs again.

"WHAT ARE YOU? A DEMON?!" she yelled after catching her breath a bit. She shakily stood up and stumbled to the teen lying down closest to her. _I guess she never was that bad of a person... _

I chuckled again when I looked at the chaos that was forming around me. Cars were stopping and people were getting out to the street to see what was going on. My eyes searched through the crowd and fixated on the person still standing across the road. His eyes were widened as he studied the chaos I was causing.

I walked over to Phan or whatever his name was, stopping right in front of him and staring at him. He stared back for a moment before speaking.

"When you used your magic to blow those people back..."

"What? Was is not graceful enough for you? I guess I still need practise at a real battle situation. I know! Maybe you could teach me. You'll be the perfect practise dummy," I giggled as I forced him against the wall and slammed a hand close to his head like he'd done to me in the ally.

"That aura of yours..." he spoke with his voice shaking.

"Huh?" I felt the magic flowing through every part of me, stronger than ever. I wasn't sure where all of it was coming from, but I knew that somehow it wasn't... right.

"That isn't celestial magic," the angel slowly spoke as he looked at me with visible fear. I blinked a couple of times before studying the aura around my body. A lime green glow was emitting from it. A demonic aura.

The shock ran though my body, stiffing me for a moment. I looked around in panic, seeing terrified faces looking up and down on me. I moved my eyes back to Phan's before stepping back from him.

For a moment there was silence and my eyes were glazed. _H-how...?_

"_I called the police!" _someone from the crowd yelled, waking me from my thoughts. Then I started laughing uncontrollably.

"Ahahahahaha! I guess... Haha! I guess you really did say I ruin things for myself, hmm? Ahahahahahahaha!" I was trying to catch my breath as I laughed. My hands had found their way against my stomach.

"This joke... is hilarious! I guess in the end I really am nothing but a weak, pathetic-"

"Drea, calm down, or I'll have to..."

"...worthless piece of shit," I finished my sentence with a smile. I felt warm, salty tears streaming down my face and to my lips. I licked my bottom lip to taste them before backing away another step. Some people were already getting brave enough to get closer to me.

"LISTEN, YOU GUYS!" I screamed, my conciousness getting blurrier. "I'M REEEAAL SORRY ABOUT THE THINGS THAT ARE GONNA FOLLOW. YOU'RE NOT REALLY GONNA LIKE THEM!" I took another step back from the angel and looked at the momentarily frozen people staring at me.

"Oh, and... Forcas? You don't have the intension of killing me, so don't worry. I'll spare you," I chuckled as I allowed my wings to pop out from my back and stretched them a bit. I moved them into my line of sight to study their new appearance. "Black... Just like _his_, I assume." I made eye-contact to my "friend" one last time before spreading my wings and taking off to the sky.

* * *

I flew through the skies with flawless flying patterns. My skill was still the same it was back in Heaven, even if slightly rougher at some parts. My wings hadn't supported me like this in a long time, after all.

I looked around before finding myself a good rooftop to settle on. I chose a high apartment house near the city center and sat down on the edge. _I'm sure the police, the Hero, dogs and cats are all after me by now..._

I sighed and quickly studied my appearance. My hair was an unsolvable mess, my shirt was almost completely ripped in half from the back and my hands were shaking. The shaking annoyed me. I thought I got rid of my feelings. I knew it wasn't so easy to do, but I though the second time would be quicker.

_I guess there's no point in running, so I'll just wait here for someone to attack me... _I thought and stared down to the ground. _I'd be afraid if I wouldn't have my magic right now. I was always terrified of even slightly high places when we first got here with Ayame._

_I remember when we went to an amusement park with Gina and I never agreed to go into the highest rollercoasters and stuff... Ayame laughed her ass off. I also learned that cotton candy is the only candy I can't finish in one go._

I felt an inward cringe when I thought about my life on Earth. I wrapped my wings around myself and allowed the tears to stream down my face. _Why can't I... Why can't I feel nothing anymore?_

* * *

I don't know how long I'd cried before I noticed a precense on my left. I wrapped my wings closer against myself and waited for the other person to speak. If he'd wanted to attack me, he'd done so long ago.

"I saw a few buildings destroyed on my way here... Well, not completely destroyed, but it seemed like someone'd been raging at them," the male voice spoke. "People most likely died."

"People die every time you blink," I whined and hugged my knees close to my chest.

"Not because of you, though," the male continued. His tone wasn't as uncaring as it usually was. "I never thought _you_ of all people would go around killing people."

"Apparently you thought wrong, Lucifer," I replied as I allowed my wings to fold open enough for me to see him. "But to be honest... I never thought I'd do that, either..." I continued, leaning my chin against my knees.

"They'll attack you if you don't come down with me," Lucifer said as he walked over to me and sat down next to me.

"I guessed as much..." I replied without looking at him. "You know we've only dated for a while, right? I don't care _that much_ about you." I saw from the corner of my eye as his expression changed a little. He seemed a bit... sad.

"I sort of knew that... I remember you saying that you can't really open your heart to people, anyway. I don't mind. I still like you," he spoke a little awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. It'd been only a few days since I'd last seen him blush, but it felt like it was ages ago. I felt the tears forming at the corners of my eyes again.

"I suppose I shouldn't be that suprised you're so lax over this," I said.

"Freaking out wouldn't really help, like Emi thinks it will..." he chuckled. "She's already in her Holy armor, ready to slice you up."

"..."

"You've mentioned that she doesn't like you... She really doesn't," the fallen angel said. "Are you gonna fight her?"

"I don't know..." I honestly said and buried my face into my palms. "I don't know what I'm doing right now... I'm scared and I feel so alone. I don't know... I really don't!" My yelling was mixed into some more crying.

"...Have you thought about it calmly? No matter how strong you feel right now, Emilia will finish you in a heartbeat. If you try to escape, you'll definitely be caught. I won't fight you, but the others will. Also, you can't really leave, because Maou set a few spells to protect this area."

"I know I'll die if I fight! That isn't the question I want answered..." I sobbed. We were quiet for a while, looking over the city.

"You know... Black wings look good on you as well," Urushihara said, looking at me from the corner of his eye. I felt my heart skip a beat. _Why is that? Why do such simple words... make me feel so strongly? _Words seemed to get stuck in my throat at the moment, so I simply decided to throw myself against his chest. I didn't cry, but I was shuddering all over. I closed my eyes to listen to his heartbeat.

Urushihara wrapped his arms around my upper torso and pulled me closer. He lifted my head on his shoulder and leaned his on mine before starting to pet the base of my wing with his left hand.

"...Your feathers are so much rougher than mine. You take terrible care of them," he complained with his usual tone, only slightly softer. "No wonder your flying isn't as good as it could be."

"Why do you have to beat me in everything? First games, and now this... Wait, the other way around," I replied, feeling his calming touch on the feathers of my wing.

"Because you're too stubborn to learn things," he scolded. "You always want to do everything by yourself. That's why you're so lonely." I clutched onto his shirt. _I-I don't..._ "You don't like it when your barriers get crushed, do you? Right now you just started making new ones and changing youself to keep me away, didn't you?"

"...You see right through me," I said, my voice unstable. There was no escaping the situation.

"You like living inside your own head?" he asked, stopping the petting and making my wing automatically move against his hand. I blushed at that. _I guess I've always been selfish. I wanted other people not to be that just for me. Like... this. _

"You know, I've thought about things now..." I said, parting from him. I didn't form eye-contact with him, since I was embarassed about my weakness. He stayed silent, waiting for my answer. It was cold when his arms weren't around me anymore.

"I think... I... I'm still scared. Like, a lot... But... I..." I took a breath. "I can't... take this anymore." His eyes widened when after I said that. My expression had changed, if only slightly. "I'm sorry."

After that I blew up the spot under us. My lime green aura was back and Urushihara had summoned his wings to fly off the building. They really did look like mine. I flew back from him and looked around to see where Emilia would attack.

I didn't have to wait for long before I saw the Hero wielding her sword at me from below. She tried to slash me but I dodged the first attack. It was an aerial battle, so I had the upper hand, but her skills were much above mine.

_This is the only way for me to escape... once and for all. _I knew from experience I was too much of a coward to take my own life, but Emilia would definitely overpower me and strike me down.

I dodged another attack she threw at me, attacking her with a high kick. She dodged it with ease, trying to launch a new one. The fight continued for a while before she finally hit me and sent me flying back. She hadn't sliced me yet, but even then it hurt like a bitch.

_How am I keeping up with her this well? _I quickly recovered from the attack and shielded myself against her next one. _Is she holding back on me? _I took a look at her face. She seemed serious.

"Is your magic low or something?! Just attack me!" I yelled at the half-breed. Lucifer had told me about her parentage before.

"I am! For some reason you're hard to kill!" she replied as angrily as one would expect from her. Anger wasn't the only emotion on her face anymore, though. She also seemed confused. I looked around for a moment before Emi's next hit and saw the familiar faces of the demons. Only, they weren't their _familiar_ faces – they were all in their demon forms. Suzuno was on a nearby rooftop in her usual kimono, wielding a large hammer and ready to jump in. I was scared, really scared.

"Hana, you don't have to do this! You don't have to fight her!" Maou yelled. _I know... _I thought, allowing myself to get distracted and received a strike from Emilia. I yelped in pain as she slashed a clean hit on my stomach and made me back off more.

Both of my hands pressed on my wound and I decided to land on the ground for a moment. I summoned back my wings and studied the pain throbbing in my stomach. Emi hovered closer with her sword pointed at me.

"Give up, so you'll spare me the trouble of killing a pathetic being like yourself," she taunted. I looked up to see the look on her face. She seemed to despise me. No wonder, since I'd attacked the people in Tokyo with apparently no reason and turned dark even though I was supposed to be on _her side_.

I took a look at one of my hands to see the blood that was flowing out from the wound I'd received. I had been wounded in fighting practise before, but only now did it hurt so much it was hard to breathe. It must've been the fact that it was a Holy sword she was using.

Maou, Alciel and Lucifer were all still following the battle very close by. They weren't sure how to react, it seemed. They didn't know whose side to take. Suzuno was out of my sight, but I was sure she was near. I had no chance and it made me smile a bit. I fell to my knees as the pain grew.

The people around had been put to sleep by Maou. How much magic power had it taken him to do that, I didn't know. But he didn't seem to lack it.

"Well, what is it, _demon_? Will you go quietly?" Emi asked, her feet touching the ground again. She took a few steps closer to me before placing the blade of Better Half against my neck.

_I wonder why... my conciousness has been... getting blurrier..._

...

"Something's wrong with her," Lucifer commented from the side and got a bit closer to us.

"Obviously... The Hero sliced her with her sword, you know," Alciel replied.

"No, I mean... Why isn't she responding?" the fallen angel asked as he stopped in front of me and pushed away Emi's blade. He cupped my cheek and formed eye-contact with me. "Drea? Can you hear me...?" _Yes._

"...You're right, she's... unresponsive..." Emi said.

…

"Maybe she's in shock," Maou suggested. "I wouldn't be surprised at this point." _...Wait. I only just realized, but... I wonder where Ayame is._

I was paying less and less attention to the voices around me. That's when I heard an extra one. A _familiar_ one.

"_Hello~ It's been a long time, hmm?_" it said. I didn't have to look for the source of the voice. It was coming from my head.

_A long time? Who are you? _I asked, obviously startled.

"_I'm you, silly~_" it replied with a cheery tone. "_I've missed myself. Lucky you became confused enough to remember me, eh? Well then... Let's wreck some shit up, shall we?_"

I was utterly confused by the voice. Then weird images started to flash trough my head. Blood. Dead bodies. Red sky. Unfamiliar eyes staring at me. Then I came back to reality.

* * *

I looked down. I was in the sky. More buildings were wrecked. Smoke was raising from someplace. Suzuno, Maou, Alciel and Lucifer were all out of sight. Someone was laughing with my voice.

That's when Emilia attacked from behind. I didn't have control over my body, but it moved on it's own. It blocked her attack with a... a sphere? A black sphere was in my hands and I fought Emilia with it. The moves were very coordinated and came from muscle-memory.

"Hana? Are you back?!" Emilia yelled when she looked me in the eye. I blinked in confusion. Somehow I was slowly regaining control of myself and my movements became more and more clumsy.

Someone laughed again. It came from my body, but I wasn't sure if it was me. I saw the Hero getting ticked off and she threw another hit at me. Because of the control I had gotten of my body again it didn't dodge it like it had before. Her hit came and made me go flying back until I hit the ground.

"AHHH!" I yelled at the harsh impact of the tarmac and rubble around. The pain going through my body didn't allow me to move a muscle. The sphere in my hands evaporated into thin air.

"I ask you again," Emilia spoke, panting. She landed on the ground, but kept her distance. "Are you normal again?" She was dead serious. She seemed worn out and hurt and her aura allowed me to notice how low her magic was running.

"I-I..." The moment I spoke she put down her weapon and spoke.

"Maou, she's back to normal again. Get here once you're done saving all those people." She was using a mental link to communicate with Maou. After saying that she walked over to me, even if a little cautious, and looked at me.

"What happened...?" I questioned weakly. My body was hurting all over, but the magic I wielded had protected me from too much injury.

"You really don't know, do you?" she asked, sighing. Only now did I realize she'd had white hair since the beginning of our battle. Her eyes had also changed.

"Did I destroy all those places?" I asked from the ground. My head was still very blurry. I got up into a sitting position, even if it hurt. I stretched my wings only to notice I'd sprained one of them and yelped in pain.

"...Yes," was Emi's simple answer as she sat down onto the rubble to rest her body. She took a few deep breaths and changed into her human form to save magic. "I'm glad to see you're back to normal again. I didn't know how to handle you when you were that way."

"I spaced out... So I don't remember..." I tried to gather the memories of our battle.

"It's fine. Just try not to freak out again." I raised a hand against my chest and tried my best to keep my thoughts calm and organized. If my freaking out really did do this, I wanted some answers instead of causing more trouble for the people around me.

* * *

It took some time before anyone found me and Emi. I'd noticed the smoke had been put out and some buildings seemed restored. A flash of black wings was seen on the sky before Lucifer came down from the sky and ran over to me. I winced when he immediately walked over to me and pulled me into a hug.

"What the hell...?" he asked, his voice a bit shaky. _It makes sense he's here first..._

"...Sorry," was all I could say. I didn't hug him back and tried not to get too emotional. I was wary of feeling too much anything at the moment. He pulled away when he realized I wasn't going to respond to his emotions. Then he took a look at Emi, who had witnessed the whole situation, and blushed.

"D-did you tell her anything? Does she remember?" he asked, playing off the awkward moment.

"No and no," Emi replied. "Have you seen Suzuno?"

"She was helping around with securing the civilians. She'll be here any moment now. Maou and Ashiya are still repairing some of the damage," he explained.

"Alright, then..." Emi looked at me and then Lucifer. "You know, it makes more and more sense to me that you two became a couple," she smirked.

"Seriously? Right now?" he asked with an annoyed tone.

"Relax, I'm just saying," the pink-haired girl said as she leaned back on her spot on the rubble. She was wearing jeans and a loose flower print top. She looked very normal again without her armor. Lucifer and I were still both in our demonic forms with our wings out.

"I'm surprised you're taking this so well. You were boiling of rage in the beginning," Lucifer commented with a sarcastic tone.

"I'm just so relieved she's back to normal it overshadows my every other feeling... I have no idea where all that magic was coming from, but it almost struck me down a couple of times."

"Um... Is it safe for you to tell me what happened?" I questioned from my spot. "Will it make me... freak out?"

"It's fine. She seems calm enough," Lucifer said.

"I don't usually trust your judgement, but I guess she should know," Emi replied and turned her attention to me. "You attacked us and blew up a few places. I fought you while Maou, Alciel and Luficer tried to prevent any more damage from happening. Suzuno helped me at first, but I sent her to help the demons."

"H-how did I do that?"

"I have no idea. You just suddenly started emitting a powerful aura and threw us all back with your magic," Emi said. "Then... Lucifer said to step back. Like... he knew." Emi slowly turned to look at the male next to me. It appeared she'd started to suspect something. "Wait a minute... Lucifer?"

"Uh..." he looked away from Emi and casually sat next to me on the rubble. "I... I gave a guess, but nothing more. I'll explain once Maou and the rest get here."

"You'd better," Emi said aggressively. My attention got glued to the fallen angel next to me.

"What is it about me, that-"

That's when a powerful blast of magic was thrown at us. The whole situation was getting more and more confusing every moment. It all happened so quickly any of us nearly had time to react.

I found myself lying on the ground. I tried to get on my feet when suddenly a black net was thrown over me. It burned my skin and my wings, making me unable to use magic. I tried to see what was happening.

There were a bunch of priests around, but more than that, there were two nets similar to mine thrown over Emilia and Lucifer. Emi didn't seem to react to it too badly (besides being trapped under it, of course), but it seemed to be burning Lucifer in the same manner it was burning me.

I felt celestial magic gathering into a single spot behind me and tried to see what was going on. A portal was being opened.

"What...? Is that a...?" I blinked in confusion.

**"Take him, too,"** a familiar voice said in the common tongue of Ente Isla and I turned to look. It was Forcas. He was pointing lazily at Lucifer, who was trapped under a net as well. **"****We don't have much time."**

"Hey! Why am _I_ getting trapped?!" Emilia yelled at the priests. "I'm the Hero!" she added with rage and sincirety.

"Ah, that's because you're on our way, miss Justina," Forcas said to the redhead before walking over to me. I looked at Emi's shocked face. "Hello~. I'm back again!"

"W-why are you trapping me?!" I yelled. "I thought you didn't wanna hurt me!"

"Well, I guess I lied, then," he smirked. Suddenly the net wrapped around me and tightened its grasp. I yelled as the burning sensation got more intense.

**"Sir, they're closing in on us! We don't have anymore time,"** one of the priests said.

**"Just make sure you get her through the portal! I'll buy you enough time. Go!"** he responded, turning his attention to the sky. I saw the vague image of someone getting closer before I got dragged into the portal.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH THIS FIC?!**

**No, but seriously, sorry about the confusion. X'3 I'll try to explain things later on. Follow, favorite and review if you wanna know what happens. :3**


	27. Chapter 26 - A lock forced open

**[A/N]**

**Sorry I haven't written anything in a while! It's just that a certain server in a certain game opened and I've been glued to it... Now that I'm on summer vacation I'll try to sacrifice more time into this. I love writing this story after all. Oh, and I just read the sixth light novel. It was soo good (like always)! Too bad Lucifer's part wasn't too big.**

**LifeOfTheLost:**** I'm glad to hear you're still enjoying my story! I hope what I'm planning for will satisfy you. ^^**

* * *

Chapter 26 – A lock forced open

My body immediately recognized the very unpleasant feeling of being dragged through time and space as I was forcefully made go through a magic portal. I was cluthing onto my feeble body and kept my eyes tightly closed as the metal net tightened around me and burned ugly patterns into my skin. My screams went ignored all the way to the other side of the portal.

Some thoughts were running through my head, but it was hard to tell what they were. The physical pain I was in was too overwhelming. Some I could at the moment distinguish were _"Wasn't this what I wanted?"_ and _"What the hell is going on?!"_ as well as _"Someone please save me."_

Once the spinning in my head decreased enough for me to try and observe the situation around me, all I could see was darkness. My field of vision was blocked by something. The next thing I noticed was that the pain caused by the net around me had gone down by a lot, and since I'd endured worse in the last minutes it almost felt normal. It was lucky, since I was on the edge of blacking out before.

I was roughly thrown to the ground and gave a whine similar to a dying cat's.

"_We only managed to capture one of the demons. It looks like our timing was horrible,"_ one of the voices I'd heard on the other side of the portal spoke in the common trading language of Ente Isla.

"_What is that damn angel doing again? He should've put the plan into action when he was ordered to,"_ another, unfamiliar voice answered.

"_Well, the Church doesn't really have influence over-"_

"_I'm aware. We'll have to make due with this one, I suppose..."_

I followed the conversation with little interest. I was trying to focus on something to keep myself distracted from the discomfort I was feeling.

After listening to the seemingly pointless banter of the priests I tried to study myself for physical damage. I had burns all over and the net around me didn't help. It only made them deeper and more painful every moment. My newly discovered dark magic was blocked off and so was the celestial. What I did notice was that after entering this side of the portal there was an increse in my power. It was very noticable that this world was suitable for using it properly.

"**Let me go!"** I accidentally yelled in Japanese. I was more used to the language we usually used in Tokyo over any other at the moment. My tongue wasn't in anyway used to the common languages of Ente Isla either, though. I only used to speak some of the heavenly languages before discovering Earth, even though I understood and could speak many others.

The banter of the priests came to a sudden stop after my latest scream. My breathing became more and more uneven when I suddenly heard footsteps nearing me from the side. I tried to grasp on the front of my shirt and make myself smaller in the net the closer the steps got.

"_Shut up, you demon bitch!" _a rough voice sounded as a powerful, obviously magically inhanced kick landed against my back and made me let out another whine. _"You have no right to express your opinion here, under God's eyes."_

The simple clue I was given allowed me to deduct we were on Holy land of the Church. The idea scared me a lot, since I had just switched teams from Heaven to Hell. I ignored the pain in my back and squeezed myself into a tiny, shivering ball. _I'm such a waste of space..._ I thought to myself as I wrapped myself into my now black feathers.

Some more time passed in agonizing silence as the net started to once more burn my skin with all it's might. I clenched my teeth and tried to direct my thoughts elsewhere, but since the area I was in was now as quiet as a grave and I couldn't see anything, my efforts were pointless.

The silence finally came into a stop when the magic portal we came through was being closed and a precense belonging to the other angel around hopped through at the last second. Some movement and noises from the priests signaled the return of Forcas.

"_Ahh~, it sure was a hassle back there,"_ he complained in a breathy manner. _"I'm lucky to have come back alive." _I was completely frozen as soon as I heard his voice. I knew only bad things could follow.

"_Sir, the female demon you captured is over there."_

"_Is she? What a wonderful job you've done. Now we have to move her before the demons catch up to us," _he spoke in his sly tone that was detectable in every language (apparently.)

"_The demons will be weak here on the Holy lands."_

"_Perhaps, but didn't you notice? Your so called Hero was with them. She could cause us trouble."_

Maybe it was because I was still partially an angel that my power seemed completely normal. I just couldn't use it.

"_Now grab her, we need to go."_

Some people got closer to me again and got a hold of my body. I still had some energy to resist their hold on me, but the net around me was quick to tighten again and make me let out some more bloody screams. I could do nothing to prevent them from moving me.

* * *

I tried my best to move around while being teleported or simply just carried multiple times. The ride was surprisingly smooth considering who were transporting me.

After what I guessed was an hour or so of traveling we started going down. Even though I couldn't see anything I could somehow detect it was getting darker. It was colder, too. Goosebumps took over my burnt skin the lower we got.

"Forcas...?" I tried asking with the smallest voice. Nobody seemed to have notified my weak inquiry and simply carried on with their walking. I clenched my teeth before speaking again. "Phan...?"

As soon as I said that word I heard loud metal doors being opened. We entered a cool space with a disgusting smell and the doors closed with a clunk behind us. I tried to somehow get a picture of where I'd been transported to. _Maybe... they're executing me?_ That would've explained the smell. I wasn't sure, but I guessed that this was what dried blood smelled like.

The steps of the priests echoed in the halls.

"_We're finally here..."_ one of the priests carrying me said after the hour long silence.

"_Quiet, you fool. We shouldn't casually chatter in a God forsaken place like this,"_ another one replied.

_God this, God that... You really seem to think you know exactly what God wants, don't you? _That's what I wanted to say, but I was too scared to. I had no way of fighting back if I pissed them off here.

"_Ugh, you always keep complaining..."_ the assumingly older priest spoke. "_You should try to relax a bit more, hmm?" _The other one only replied with a grunt. Soon after that the both of them stopped. I patiently waited for something to happen.

Light footsteps neared us before stopping right before the priests. There was a sound of metallic clinking and soon a lock being opened._ A... A prison cell? _I guessed. A door was pushed open and the priests took a few steps before throwing me to the ground.

"Aghh!" I yelled as I suddenly hit the cold stone of the floor.

"_Release her,"_ the older priest ordered. The light stepped person walked over to me and seemed to have kneeled on the ground. I felt someone move the dark fabric that was around me and blocked my vision. I closed my eyes in case they couldn't handle the light.

As soon as the fabric was removed I carefully opened my eyes to look around. The lighting was very dim, but I could – to my suprise – see in the dark very well. I blinked and observed my surroundings.

I was in a prison cell made of stone. There were no windows and only one, narrow metal door. It was open and at the entrance stood two male priests, one about the age of forty and another at least fifty or sixty human years.

I heard a clunk and turned to look into the direction of the sound. I saw the third person, the light footed young man dressed in what one could only describe as filthy rags. He carried around a bunch of different keys that were hanging from his belt. He was also carrying the dark fabric that was wrapped around me.

I watched as the boy kneeled to pick up something from the ground. He walked over to me and I flinched back when he reached towards me. I was reminded of the burning sensation of the metal web around me and let out a quiet scream.

The next time I looked at the boy I saw a reluctant look on his face. His hand was reached toward me but he seemed unsure to move it.

"Hurry up, we don't have the whole night to spend here," the younger priest ordered from the doorway. That command made the boy nod and turn his attention to the thing he was carrying in his hands. _Handcuffs...?_ I thought as I looked at the strong looking rings connected by a very, very short chain. They looked way too big for my wrists.

"Honestly, the young ones can never do it by themselves..." the older priest complained as he walked over to me and reached his hand toward me. It was obvious from the start that he had no intention of touching me, so a spell was the only option. I was right. A wordless spell loosened the net around me just enough to free my wrists from it. I breathed out in relief when even a small part of my body was saved from the constant burning.

As soon as my wrists were freed they got chained again. The large handcuffs automatically adjusted to my wrist size and burned a hell of a lot worse than the net ever could've. I screamed again, tasting my own blood in my throat. My voice had crossed its limits.

"Stop screaming already! I'm tired of listening to you!" the priest casting the spell yelled as he ruthlessly stepped on my wing. I whined for a moment before taking a few quick breaths and trying to will away my need to scream some more.

After the priest removed his foot from my wing he sighed. I kept my eyes tightly closed, like the fabric around me had never left and I was still in the safety of darkness. Then, all of a sudden, the pain on most of my skin lessenned until it completely disappeared. I reluctantly opened my eyes to see what was going on. The net around me was removed.

"...Eh?" I questioned as I looked at my freed body. My hands were still cuffed and my magic also seemed to be blocked, but I was able to move again. It was hard to believe at first.

"Boy, let's get out." I looked at the boy who had chained my hands. He was carrying the net and the fabric. He gave me a short glance before leaving the cell. The priests followed him out.

"W... Wait!" I yelled and tried to desperately crawl closer to the door. The younger priest stopped before closing the door between us. I froze in place. "U-uh... What are you going to do with me?" I asked with what was left of my voice.

The priest simply huffed before closing the door and locking it. I was left there, clueless of what would follow.

I sat down on my knees and stared at the door for a moment. Then I took a look of my handcuffs. With those I couldn't do anything to escape and even the burns on my body couldn't properly heal. I studied my appearance as carefully as I could – I didn't want to shock myself too much.

It was easy to see my body was full of red prints of the metal web. They were still painful as hell. I tried to feel if I was able to move around. My wings were completely stiffened from all the pain the web had caused, but I couldn't summon them back because of the lack of magic. My limbs seemed to be slowly recovering some of their strenght, but all movement I managed to create was still very clumsy.

I decided it was best to try and rest for a moment before trying to figure out the situation. I stumbled on my side and tried my best to wrap my wings around my weak body. I simply laid there for a long time, unable to fall asleep.

* * *

After lying in place for who knows how long I slowly opened my eyes to look around in the room again. The stink of dried blood was stronger than out in the supposed hallways of the prison. It didn't take me long to figure out why.

There were blood stains on the floor as well as the walls. The walls were covered with bloody markings that were hard to understand. Actually, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to understand them.

I forced my body to move into a sitting position and felt around again. The movement of all my limbs seemed to have gotten better while I rested. The pain of my burns was also lessenned. I allowed my hands to carefully travel down my stomach to look for a certain scar.

Only... I couldn't find the scar. I blinked in confusion when there was no trace of the Hero slashing me on the stomach. _When did it even have time to heal...?_

I crawled closer to the back wall of the cell and took support of it to stand up. My legs nearly gave out under my weight.

_How did it come to this? _I thought as I stumbled across the small cell and took support from the door on the other side of it. I grabbed its handle in a hopeless attempt to see if I could open it. I couldn't.

I followed the walls of the room to find a hint of a way to escape or at least to find out what was going on. I also eyed the roof and floor for answers, but there didn't seem to be any way out. Not even air holes so I'd be able to breathe for long time periods. The cell was definitely going to run out of air at some point. I supposed that was the friendliest way they could kill me.

_Why... Am I searching for a way out? _I thought as I collapsed on my knees and buried my face into my hands. _Why do I want to know what's happening? Have I... given up on the idea that... my existence is meaningless?_

I moved the hands from my face and slowly turned my chin up to stare at the seiling... and beyond. _This is how things should go, right? _I looked at the chains restraining my hands with lifeless eyes. _This must be the first time I've asked Him for answers,_ I chuckled. _I used to rely on my own brain. Maybe I should try that again._

I tried to think of everything logically and from and objective standpoint. In my current situation many would've claimed it impossible, but I was good at looking at things from the third person view. That's what I was most of the time, anyway.

By what I'd heard Forcas wanted revenge on me. Was this his revenge? It didn't seem like his style at all, not that I knew much about it. Maybe this was fate simply punishing me for doing nothing. That idea was ridiculous from the start, since I didn't believe in things like fate. I considered it anyway, since this was the perfect moment for karma to strike and take everything from me.

The third and most logical guess was that the Church wanted to capture me because I was a demon. And not only a demon, but a demon close to Satan Jacob – the current King of Demons. What they were going to use me for was another question. Maybe they wanted to publicly execute me as an example? That seemed to be the most logical choice as well, since the public didn't believe in demons having emotions besides hatred and other things they called 'twisted.' Most people wouldn't be stupid enough to try and use me as a tool for blackmail.

I didn't know much about Ente Islan things, since I ever only focused on what was going on near me. I never thought I'd be involved in politics or wars. I thought I'd live in my own little world, my own little prison I'd built for myself, forever.

When I decided to leave Heaven it was the first decision I'd made by myself. Ever since I was born there was someone telling me how I should've lived my life. It looked like they were giving me a choice, but in my heart I always knew I was chained down and my so called destiny was decided beforehand.

_I wonder why such memories surface now... Maybe because I'm being chained down again? _I chuckled. _Maybe that's why I want to escape so badly. _I rose on my feet again and walked over to the door. I leaned my ear against it to listen for sounds. It was dead quiet, so I simply backed away from the door and sat down again.

I still remembered the eyes looking down on me. The eyes that I always suspected were lying to me. And then the eyes that I never thought would betray me.

_Who am I?_

_What am I doing here?_

_Where do I belong?_

The three questions I had always been searcing answers for. It was funny how simple they were. I knew, I knew in my heart that something was wrong. Something was always wrong. The fight I had with Emilia only confirmed the doubting voice at the back of my mind. I shouldn't have been able to keep up with her.

_My name is not Drenumi._

_I shouldn't have been there._

_I was only pretending to belong._

Those were the answers I had at the moment. I thought that if I pretended enough what I was would actually become reality. I was wrong.

The smiling face of Gina Matsuoka wasn't meant for me. The encouraging words of Audiana weren't meant for me. The warmth I felt in my chest every time I looked at Lucifer in the eyes didn't belong to me.

And I didn't belong to them. Because those we're all... Drenumi's.

This place. This small prison cell enhanced with the smell of dried blood and tears belonged to me. I could only imagine what horrors had happened here and I couldn't even begin imagining where my story would go from now on, but at least I knew it was mine.

_Hey... You. No, Me._

"_Hmm~?"_

_Will you make me understand?_

"_Ahahaha... You're not ready to understand."_

_Why?_

"_I'll let you know when you're ready."_

* * *

Some time went by with me lying in the cell I was thrown in. I wasn't sure if it was hours or days, it was hard to tell when you were sitting in utter darkness and silence. I would've gone mad if I hadn't experienced spending a lot of time by myself and doing nothing before. I was a very lonely person when I thought about it.

As the time went by, my mind started to slowly die out as well. I spent my time simply staring at the door, leaning on the opposite wall. I knew it hadn't been too long, since I hadn't died of starvation. Without my magic I had to consume food after all.

Then, without warning, the metal door opened.

At first I didn't realize what had happened. My eyes slowly widened as I looked at the open door. Then I saw people standing at the door. One of them I somehow recognized as the boy who'd put my current handcuffs on me. The other one was a male member of the Church I hadn't yet come into contact with.

The unknown male approached me until he was standing right in front of me. Unlike the priests that brought me here, there seemed to be no hatred nor disgusted look in his eyes. He seemed completely emotionless to me.

He reached his hand toward me and grabbed a hold of my handcuffs. He pulled them until I was standing up. That's when my mind slowly cleared and I realized he was taking me somewhere. He lead me out of the cell and I watched as the boy who was left behind scrupulously closed the door after us.

"Um... What's going on?" I asked with my silent, unused voice.

"I'm taking you upstairs, where your destiny will be discussed." The male's answer was swift and colourless. I was surprised he even answered to me.

"Are there no other demons locked down here?" I decided to continue my questioning.

"All prisoners were executed a few days back. You're the only one," the male coldly replied. The thought of me having been the only prisoner was very unsettling.

I wanted to ask why he didn't leave my questions ignored, but I didn't want to try his patience nor my own luck. I obediently followed him over to the staircase and allowed him to take me wherever he wanted to without resistance.

We walked through a few staircases and hallways before finally arriving to a dark door with torches on both sides. The architecture had turned from plain to very gorgeous in a short time.

"This is where you're taking me?" I asked with an unsure tone. The man nodded before jerking my handcuffs and forcing me to move. _My legs are on the edge of giving in._

The door in front of us opened and light filled the hallway we'd been walking through. I was led into the room and I took a look around. It seemed to be a hall made of dark stone and beatiful, golden decorations. It looked like a sort of council room with the priests lined u-

I felt a harsh kick on my back and fell on my stomach. I had no more time to observe my surroundings. I tried to look back to see who kicked me down-

I heard a sound of something very alive being pierced. Time seemed to stop. I slowly and shakily turned to look on my side, only to see... a spear. Stabbed into the floor. Throught my wing.

I screamed in pain when the realization finally hit me. Suddenly another, similar sound and similar pain was felt when another spear pierced my another wing as well. I was restrained to the ground in the most painful way imaginable. I couldn't help but scream in agony until my throat was completely numb. The room was otherwise silent.

At some point I couldn't scream anymore and the pain I felt was only being expressed by silent sobs. I laid on the floor with my body completely numb and signals of immense pain traveling through my nerves into my brain. I had no intention of even trying to will it away. It was too unbearable.

"Why..." I quietly whined between my sobs while the priests corrected their lineup.

"Now then..." one of the priests spoke. "The demon has been restrained, so we can start our discussion."

"What should we do with it, brothers, sisters?" one of the few females spoke.

"It looks pathetic. Are you certain this is one of the demons assosiated with Satan?"

"An angel of Heaven has brought us this offering. How dare you even suggest that Heaven would betray us. We are the Church."

"Heaven or God wouldn't betray us, but aren't we looking at a traitorous angel at the current moment? Think about your words before you spit them out, brother."

"Fallen angels... The worst kind of demons."

I was in too much pain to follow the conversation properly.

"Should we use it to lure Satan and the rest of his demons into our trap?"

"Demon King Satan would never sacrifice anything for this worthless being."

"Should we just kill it then?"

"A public execution of this demon wouldn't cause any different reaction from the other ones."

"Then why are we even discussing the matter?"

"Forcas himself said that this particular demon was different from the others. Let's not doubt his word."

"Should we just keep it locked up?"

"How long will it even last? It's barely concious even now."

"We can not let it die before we hear from Heaven."

"I don't see what's so special about this demon. It looks weak compared to many others."

"It might be because it has only turned a few days ago."

_How... am I not ready to know yet?_

"_You'll know why once you actually _are_ready. You'll also realize that I'm protecting you."_

_From what?_

"_Telling you would ruin the protection, wouldn't it?"_

The fight between the several priests and priestesses continued for ages. I'd been too tired and too much in pain to follow most of the dialogue, but I kept on picking out words like 'Heaven,' 'Forcas' and 'special.' I understood that it had to do something with the power I was emitting. Something with the voice inside my head.

"Hey, do you know-"

Once again I didn't get to finish my train of thought nor my sentence. The moment I tried to ask for answers something interrupted me again. This time it was a loud explosion.

I looked up only to see a bunch of dark pieces of the seiling fly across the room. The place was filled in sudden smoke and flames. Screams were heard. The celestial aura of the priests became easier to detect. They were ready for a fight.

"You humans..." echoed through the room with a mocking tone. "Don't you think it was a stupid idea to bring her above ground and easy to sense?" The smoke was slowly spreading around the room and away from the voice that spoke so dangerously. A voice that was familiar but yet so distant.

"Lucifer...?" I asked in disbelief. My eyes were quickly watering when I looked at his demonic form near the seiling. And, with his dark angel wings spread and his casual clothing from Japan he turned to look at me with a soft expression.

After moving his gaze from me he looked at the priests and priestesses around the room. Some of them were shivering in fear and it seemed to amuse him. Quiet whispers traveled around the room.

"So you know who I am? I'm glad to have made an impression," he laughed. "I seem to get more respect here than among the other demons." I didn't care how. I didn't care when. I didn't even care that I was putting all of myself into another person's custody. Once again, because of that person, I felt so relieved it made me cry. No matter in how much pain or suffering I was in, simply him – no, simply _someone_ being there made me so much happier.

"Lucifer!" I yelled to the angel still hanging around near the roof. The priests hadn't done anything to attack him yet and he seemed to be still calculating the situation.

"**Are you alright?"** he asked in Japanese as he took another look at me.

"**Does this look alright to you?"** I asked with a sarcastic tone. For some reason, no matter how much pain I was in at that moment, there was a smile on my lips. **"****Please... Help me."**

That's when one of the priestesses seemed to have gotten an idea. She hopped close to me before pulling a blade out from who knows where and placing it near my neck. Lucifer didn't seem to give out a spectacularly powerful reaction, but he did seem slightly more weary.

"Give up, demon, and we'll let her go unharmed!" she yelled.

"...Seriously, you're going with that?" Lucifer asked, disappointment apparent in his voice. Before the woman could even react, a flash of purple light in Lucifer's eyes went off and he was suddenly standing there, right in front of her. The woman flinched and automatically backed off, but Lucifer raised his hand and shot her back with concentrated magic, making her painfully hit the wall.

That's when the priests got aggressive. They started using their celestial magic to try and fight him off, but Lucifer only created an energy shield to protect us for a moment. Then he kneeled down next to me and placed a hand on my back.

"**I can't teleport out of here because there are spells preventing it. What I can do, though, is to make you fall asleep for a while. Sorry."**

"W-wai-" Once again I couldn't finish my sentence before I was cut off by something. This time it was a sleeping spell.

* * *

The first thing that was returned to me was my hearing.

"The burns on her skin look better already."

"Yeah. How did Maou-san even manage to remove those handcuffs?"

"Ahh... It's a design originally created by demons."

"Of course demons would create such a torture device."

"And of course humans would use it, right?"

"Ugh..."

I slowly opened my eyes to study my surroundings. I was blinded by a bright light and lifted one of my arms to cover it. My limbs felt heavy and hard to move.

"She's awake...! Hana-chan?" I blinked a couple of times to adjust my eyes to the lighting.

"Chiho-chan...?" I asked once I was able to see again. Chiho was sitting next to me with a worried, no, horrified look plastered all over her face.

"Thank God you're alright!" she exclaimed with teary eyes as she threw her arms around my neck and pulled me close. I was too dumbfounded to find a proper reaction. I tried to remember the last thing before falling unconcious.

"Everyone was worried. We're glad that you're awake again," Maou, who was standing behind Chiho said with a smile.

"Why do you assume _everyone_ was worried..." was the nearly unheard mutter of Emi, who was standing farther away from me with her arms folded.

"I always thought the Church was evil, but it's hard to imagine what lenghts humans can go to sometimes..." Ashiya stated a little reluctantly. Chiho finally pulled away from the hug she was giving me.

"Drenumi-dono, even though I would've fought against you only a little time ago I... truly am happy to see you alive," Suzuno said as she sat down next to me as well. I was leaned against one of the walls of Villa Rosa Sasazuka's apartment 201. My wings were still out and my wrists were freed from the handcuffs.

"Why am I here...?" I asked. My voice was shivering and my face was unable to form a proper expression. Everyone looked at me with their happy expressions shattered a bit.

"You should rest before we explain things to you," Maou suggested with his MgRonald's attitude. I gave a reluctant nod. I didn't need to know what was going on right away. I wasn't sure my brain could've handled it at the moment.

The bathroom door opened and Lucifer- no, Urushihara stepped out of the bathroom. He froze in his steps for a moment when our eyes met. I felt so relieved when I saw his face again I almost started crying.

_That's right... That's how it happened. _My eyes made their way down to his clothes. They had changed. In his hands he carried the ones he wore earlier. It didn't take me long to realize why he had changed just now. His clothes were stained in blood.

Urushihara broke the eye contact before throwing his old clothes carelessly into the laundry basket. Then he walked over to me.

"What is it?" he asked with his usual monotone. He seemed oddly distant, so I didn't want to reply. Only then did I notice everyone's eyes were going between me and him. A familiar blush creeped up on my face, but my expression wasn't particularly embarrased or shocked. It was only slightly sad.

"I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble..." I finally said. No one really knew how to reply for a moment.

"I forgive you," Chiho said with a wide smile. It was hard to deny that smile, and I burst into tears again.

"...Thank you."

"Honestly, and you tried to tell me you're not emotional?" Urushihara said with his cheeks slightly red as well.

"...What are you waiting for, Urushihara? She's _your_ girlfriend. _You_ should be the one to comfort her," Ashiya scolded.

"Shut up, housewife!" he exclaimed in embarrasment.

"It's fine... It's enough that he saved me..." I said, my hands shaking. That's when everyone turned to look at me again and I wanted to sink into the ground. Urushihara sighed before sitting down next to me.

"Idiot," he scolded and stroke my hair. That simple act made me immediately collapse against his chest. I cried out loud with my hands cluthing onto the front of his shirt.

"...I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I yelled repeatedly. I didn't notice it at first, but everyone around me had scattered into the hallway or simply just into a different part of the apartment. I was embarrased and scared about everything, but I was happy I didn't have to be that alone.

_This is my story._

* * *

**[A/N]**

**We're nearing the end and it shows! Wow, I can see how much I've evolved through this... Five more chapters to go! I'll try to update as soon as possible. ****Would you lovelies please review so I'd know what you think and what I need to get better at~? Thank you!**


	28. Chapter 27 - Heartbreaks and heart aches

**[A/N]**

**[PART 1/2]**

**I'm back! No, I didn't abandon you! Sorry it's been taking me a while to update... But... I just couldn't until now! This chapter is 11 000 words long (together with part 2) and it took a very long time to write. It was also a bit tiring to write, as much as I like doing it. There's a bunch of info dumping and I'm sorry if the characters aren't completely IC, but like I said: eleven fucking thousand words! I wrote the parts during different days and there might be some repetition or inconsistencies there, but it's done. It's finally done. I'm posting this and part 2 at the same time, just so you wont get too confused!**

**LifeOfTheLost: Once again: thanks for you review! I'm really glad you liked the chapter! ^^ I was actually very uncertain when writing that (and this one) since it's out of my comfort zone. I hope to keep up the same 'quality' (hah, quality in my works?) until the end of the story!**

**OneTrackMinds: Wow, I'm so glad you like my story! You're gonna have to wait for Ayame-chan a little longer, since I have other things I need to sort out in the story. Don't worry, she's gonna appear in the next chapter to make things with her clearer. This chapter is also meant to explain things (I'm info dumping all of you because of bad story structure) and hopefully clear your confusion.**

** The details, I don't know if I can help that much since English isn't my first language. I think the way of solving this ****problem would be with simply more writing experience in this language or maybe first writing the chapters in my first language and then translating that to English, but that would be way too much effort for me. I'll try my best to get better. Thanks for your critisism! ^^**

* * *

Chapter 27 – Heartbreaks and heart aches (Part 1)

I don't know how long I'd been crying, but by the time I realized I was out of tears the bright light coming through the window of apartment 201 was fading. It could've been an hour or it could've been longer, I wasn't sure. I couldn't stop my body from shivering. It was lucky I was still cluthing onto Urushihara's shirt, otherwise I certainly would've collapsed to the floor.

"Do you need water?" Ashiya asked with a surprisingly soft tone. It was the first time anyone had spoken after I started crying.

"...Please," I replied with a hoarse voice and looked at the tall male from the corner of my foggy eyes. Ashiya nodded as he made his way to the kitchen.

The room was quiet and most of the people had left. Only me, Urushihara and Ashiya were present. I guessed the others had moved to Suzuno's apartment.

"Here," Ashiya said as he passed me the glass. I looked at it for a moment before forcing control over my body and sitting up from Urushihara's hold. He easily let go of me and we made quick eye contact before I took the glass from Ashiya.

"A-are you feeling better yet?" Urushihara asked. It was obvious he felt slight discomfort because of Ashiya's presence, but tried to be sympathetic for me anyway. I gave him a small nod and sipped some water from the glass. Swallowing stung a bit at first.

I finished the glass of water before giving it back to Ashiya, who took it to the kitchen again.

"Is it alright to ask Maou-sama to return and... perhaps discuss what happened?" Ashiya asked while cleaning the single glass, maybe just to have something to do with his hands. I turned to look at Urushihara again. He looked back with an unreadable expression and slowly moved his hand to the black feathers of my wing again. I blushed when he started petting it.

"She needs rest you know," Urushihara commented with his usual monotone. I guessed he had time to compose himself while I was still panicking.

"I know, but she also deserves to know what happened as soon as possible, don't you think?" Ashiya pointed out, placing the now clean and dried glass into one of the cabinets. Urushihara's gaze moved to the floor.

"If she wants to, then fine," he said, his words more a mumble than anything.

"Huh? Speak clearly so I can understand you," Ashiya complained. Urushihara didn't have enough time to reply before the door to the apartment was opened. The other angel's hand left my wing immediately when he saw Maou at the door.

"Oh, hope I didn't interrupt anything," he said as he entered the apartment.

"Nothing important, Maou-sama. I was actually just about to call you back anyway," Ashiya said, bowing to the raven.

"Ah, is that so? Are you feeling any better, Hana-san?" he asked as his red eyes moved their target from Ashiya to me.

"A little," I replied, my voice still small and worn out. I no doubt looked terrible, my clothes and hair a mess and my face red from crying. There were also the two wounds on my wings from the spheres piercing them and some burns on my skin.

"Are you ready to talk about what happened?" Maou inquired.

"...C-could I maybe change before that?" I asked with my cheeks pink and stared at the floor. I was embarrased about my current weak state.

"A-ahh, of course!" Maou spoke a little embarrased, like he hadn't even considered that. "Oh... But before you go to your apartment, you should know something." My eyes moved from the floor to the Demon Lord.

"Huh?"

"There's someone waiting in your apartment..." Maou rubbed the back of his head. _Ayame-chan?_

"What he's trying to say is that your friend, Matsuoka-san knows about us now," Urushihara said as bluntly as ever. I was completely frozen after hearing his words.

"Urushihara, you could be at least a little more gentle when delivering bad news!" Ashiya scolded.

"Calm down, she can handle it," the inconsiderate NEET sighed in annoyment.

"How did she take it?" I asked, ignoring the previous topic. Maou seemed taken aback by my question. He took a deep breath before answering.

"Well, she's shocked for sure... Maybe you should just see her for yourself," Maou suggested. I looked at the floor again before nodding.

"You're not curious about how she found out?" Urushihara asked with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Eh? Um... I'm guessing she was out when I... decided to..." my hands started shaking before I could finish the sentence so I simply just stopped and directed my thoughts elsewhere. "C-can I go see her now?" A short silence followed and Maou gave me a nod of approval.

"Here, I'll help you up," Ashiya said while offering his hand. I looked up at him, the blush on my cheeks reappearing.

"T-thank you," I said as I grabbed his hand and allowed him to help me on my feet. They could barely carry me, so I couldn't let go of him at first.

"Can you even make it to your apartment?" Urushihara sighed as he got up as well. His balance seemed to faulter a bit after sitting so long and he had to take support of the wall. "Ahh... My legs fell asleep again, didn't they?" That earned a faint smile from me.

"Should we ask one of the girls to accompany you?" Ashiya suggested.

"They're all at Suzuno's place now. I can go get them," Maou said, pointing to the door. I nodded, still embarrased about my condition. "Alright, I'll be right back," Maou said as he disappeared into the hallway.

"...Y-you can let go now," I said after releasing my grip on Ashiya, who was my buttress at the moment.

"Are you sure?" Ashiya asked and I immediately nodded. He slowly let go of me and allowed me to stand on my own.

"Your legs look shaky. Are you sure you can stand?" Urushihara questioned with a slightly mocking tone.

"Shut up and watch me. Besides, you shouldn't be the one talking here," I mumbled in annoyment.

"I see your attitude's back," the NEET laughed.

"..." I couldn't help but smile a bit again.

It didn't take long for Maou to return with the girls. They all popped into the apartment one by one. Suzuno and Chiho immediately rushed over to me while Emi stayed back with Ashiya and Maou.

"I heard you're feeling better, Hana-chan... I'm glad," Chiho said with her warm smile and grabbed both of my hands into her own. I smiled back at her.

"We should go and get you out of those dirty clothes. Matsuoka-dono is waiting for you in your apartment," Suzuno said while taking one of my hands from Chiho's grasp and throwing my arm over her shoulders. I reluctantly put some of my weight on her while she helped me move towards the door.

"...I'll come with you, too," Emi suddenly said.

"Hah?"

"Y-Yusa-san?"

I made short eye contact with the Hero before she turned to look at the floor.

"I-it's just... You betrayed me, and I can't forgive you for that..." Emi said while staring at the tatamis. "But I also can not forgive the Church for what they did..." she said, her tone softer and her eyes moving to me. "Besides, I want to be there when you talk to Matsuoka-san." I thought about her words for a moment before nodding.

* * *

The walk over to mine and Ayame's apartment was only a few meters long, but felt like forever to walk – and not only because of my injuries. I was downright scared of facing Gina, but knew I'd already dealt with worse.

"Hana-dono?" Suzuno asked as I seemed to have been swallowed by my thoughts. We were standing in front of the door, I still taking support from the slightly shorter girl.

"Ahh, I think I can stand on my own..." I said as I slowly moved my weight off her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. I nodded and she reluctantly allowed me to stand on my own. I took a deep breath before grabbing the door handle and determinately opening the door.

I just stood there, in the door frame, holding the handle of the door. I couldn't move after seeing her simply sitting there, at our table and drinking tea as calmly as ever. Her light green and blue eyes moved from the tea cup to the door and I flinched at her gaze.

For a while there was complete silence with the both of us staring at each other, looking for the other's reaction.

"It's really true... You're not from Earth after all," Gina said as she put down her tea cup. "For a while I thought I might've dreamed it..." Her eyes drifted to the table top and her hands seemed to be slightly shaking.

"Hello, Gina-chan..." I greeted as my voice finally decided to cooperate.

"Hi," she replied, eyes still at the table. Another silence followed, so I decided to simply step inside. As soon as I did, she took another look at me, mostly observing the black pair of wings coming from my back.

The tension was broken when Chiho, Emi and Suzuno stepped inside the apartment as well.

"Gina-chan must be very confused about things," Chiho said as she walked over to the blue-haired girl and sat at the table with her.

"How could I not be?" Gina asked with a bitter chuckle. "I thought angels and demons only existed in stories!"

"I know how you feel. I've gone through the same thing," Chiho said with a small smile. She made an attempt to place her hands over the other girl's, but she moved hers away.

"..." Gina avoided looking anyone in the eye. "So you're a normal human like me, Chiho-chan?" she asked, looking at the redhead from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah. Completely normal."

"...I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse," Gina said. It was Suzuno's turn to enter the conversation.

"I'm sorry we couldn't inform you about our identities, but that could've put you at risk," she said.

"At risk? I-I don't understand... anything!" Gina yelled as she turned to look at Suzuno.

"Ahh, you see..." Emi began, "There's sort of a war going on between humans and demons. Both our sides have a lot of enemies that could harm you if they thought of you as a threat."

"A war? Between- Ahh! I still don't get anything! If there's a war, which side are you on? Why are you here and not in your own world? Maou-san only told me that you're from a different world. Why are you not there?" Gina exclaimed, her hands raising to the sides of her head like she was in pain.

"Calm down, we'll explain... Though only the necessary. The less you know the better," Emi said as she sat down next to Gina and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"...Then please, do! I-I need to understand what's going on. I need to know why I couldn't find out that my best friend's _a fucking angel_!"

"Alright, alright. You see... We come from a world called Ente Isla. Over there a war began when the demon army, lead by Maou, attacked the humans. I, as the Hero, am destined to fight against him and kill him, thus ending the misery fallen over our land," Emi calmly explained.

"S-so Maou-san's a demon and you're a human? Then... Are Ashiya-san and Urushihara-kun demons as well?"

"Yes, that's how it is. That's why I'm telling you right now that you shouldn't get more involved with them," the Hero said.

"But why are you guys on Earth?" Gina repeated her earlier question.

"Maou, or in our world, Satan, managed to escape from Emilia's- eh, Yusa-dono's sword through a magic portal that lead to Tokyo," Suzuno said, cutting into the conversation again.

"That's right," Emi confirmed. "I followed him through the portal and once I got here, I slowly felt my magic slipping away. It was the same for Maou. He can't leave Earth without magic, but... He doesn't seem to even want to do that most of the time. He seems like a hardworking, normal guy... That's why I haven't killed him yet," Emi explained with slight discomfort in her voice.

"That's..." Gina seemed to be at a loss for words.

"It might seem like a lot to take in at first, but I promise you it's gonna be fine," Chiho assured with a cute smile.

"Fine? How is it gonna be fine? How can you be so calm about this, Chiho-chan?" Gina exclaimed as she looked at Chiho with a panicked expression. Then she turned to me. "And you! Why... I mean... You could've told me...!" I took a step back from my friend and turned to look at the floor. I didn't want to see her expression again.

"Gina-chan, you shouldn't yell at Hana-chan. She's been through a lot in the last few days," the busty redhead said in a slightly more firm tone. I took a quick peek at Gina and noticed her expression softening a bit.

"...You really do look beat," she admitted after looking up and down at me again. "What happened?"

"Some people from Ente Isla captured me for- for some reason," I said as I eyed the floor again.

"O-oh... That must've been scary," she said. I didn't reply.

"Hana-dono, we should get you out of those clothes," Suzuno said with her monotone.

"...EH?!" I yelled as my brain didn't immediately register her meaning.

"Hmm?" The girl's head was slightly tilted to the side.

"Uh... She means that you look like a mess right now," Emi said, clearing Suzuno's meaning for me. I looked down on my torn up clothing and felt a blush taking over my face. Since words were once more reluctant to leave my mouth, I decided to nod in understanding.

I turned around and headed for my closet. I opened it up and picked a t-shirt to wear. _This isn't gonna work, is it? _I thought as I took a look at my wings.

"C-could someone cut holes in the back of this shirt?" I asked with a small voice and offered the t-shirt to anyone nearby.

"Huh? Why? Can't you make your wings disappear?" Chiho asked.

"Not until they're healed I can't..." I replied without looking at the girl. "The magic in my body needs to spread through them to make the necessary repairs."

"I'll do it," Suzuno offered as she took the shirt from my hands and went to find scissors from the kitchen.

"Thank you," I said, slowly taking off the shirt I was wearing. "Ahh!" I yelped as I somehow tried to maneuver the shirt over my wings.

"I'll help you with that," Emi said with a small smile. She seemed to be pitying me for my struggles.

"T-thank you..." I spoke with my face as red as a tomato. I pulled the shirt over my head and Emi carefully pulled it over my wings.

"Those wounds look painful," she commented while undressing me.

"They are," I replied. "But it's alright... They'll heal."

"Aren't the wings the most sensitive part on an angel's body? Isn't that what you once told me, Emilia?" Suzuno inquired as she handed me the now cut t-shirt. I studied the holes before trying to put it on with Emi's help.

"Yeah. Especially the inside of the wings is full of nerves so that studying the wind currents would be easier," the Hero explained. "Any pain inflicted to the wings is much more immense than, say, pain inflicted to the arms and legs."

"Does that mean that they're also more sensitive for a softer touch?" Chiho, who knew even less about angels than Suzuno, asked. It was only natural for her to be curious.

"Yeah, that's correct," Emi replied with an awkward chuckle. For a reason or another the blush on my face couldn't get a break today.

I finished changing and made my way to the bathroom to clean myself up a little. I would've taken a shower if there still weren't so many things I wanted to discuss about as soon as possible. I washed my face and arms and tied up my messy hair to appear at least a little more presentable. After that I entered the main room again.

"...About Ayame-chan," Gina said as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom.

"What?" I asked. "Do you know where she is?" I had high hopes at that moment.

"Uh, yeah, but... She's an angel too, isn't she?" Gina asked, looking away from me again.

"She is," I said. "I'm sorry, but, c-could you tell me where she is? I haven't seen her since... _That day._" I tried to control the chills running up my spine.

"She's... She's at Etsuko's place. She said she'll be leaving somewhere soon, but for now she's staying over there." _Ayame-chan's... leaving?_

"I-I need to talk to her...!" I yelled as I tried to make my way to the door, only to be stopped by Suzuno grabbing my arm.

"You can't go outside looking like that," she pointed out. If I were to go outside with my wings exposed like this, people would surely panic.

"..." I fell to my knees. "Ayame-chan..." I spoke her name with a small voice.

"You'll get to her. Right now we need to fill you in on what happened," Emi said, getting up from the table and moving over to the door. "Let's go. Chiho-chan-"

"I'll stay here with Gina-chan. I feel like we have a lot incommon at the moment, so having a talk together would be the best option," Chiho said and Gina took a quick look at her, suprise visible in her expression.

"Alright," Emi said. Then she turned to me and offered a hand. "Let's go." I nodded before grabbing it.

* * *

Emi, Suzuno and myself made our way across the hallway and into the demons' apartment again. As soon as we entered, we were met by three pairs of eyes studying my new form. I looked away from them to avoid eye contact and shakily sat down at the table.

"Where did you leave Chi-chan?" Maou asked after the last one of us had entered the apartment.

"She's still chatting with Matsuoka-san," Emi replied before looking through all the people present.

"Oh. How did your talk go?" Maou inquired and sat down to the table as well. Urushihara was quick to move from the computer (that he apparently had started while we were across the hall) and sat down next to me. His hikikomoriness earned a frown from Suzuno.

"Better than expected I guess," I sighed and turned to the other angel sitting next to me. He blinked a couple of times in confusion. I was looking for support more than anything, but for once his sharp brain didn't catch onto my intentions. I moved my eyes from him to the table top with nothing gained.

"So... Do you want to know what happened now?" Emi asked and reluctantly sat across the table from me. Ashiya and Suzuno decided to stay standing.

"I do, but I don't know where I should begin with my questions," I honestly said.

"What's the last thing you remember before 'blacking out'?" Ashiya asked while crossing his arms.

"Ah... I remember... Fighting with Yusa-san. At first she felt like an overwhelming force to deal with, but then... For some reason, I realized I was actually keeping up with her. She sliced me to the stomach and it felt like... at the lastest, at that moment, something was triggered," I explained as clearly as I could. "After that I saw nothing but black for a while and noticed I was up in the sky, still fighting her."

"Ahh, so that's how it was for you..." Emi said, placing a palm against her forehead. "To be honest, I was sort of hoping you were out of it a lot earlier."

"I know what you mean," I spoke with an awkward chuckle, still staring at the table top.

"What actually happened was quite different," Maou said from the side and Emi confirmed his words with a small nod.

"That's right. After I sliced you in the stomach, Lucifer noticed something was wrong with you. Then, a few moments later... a poweful blast of energy threw us all back. The force felt so ridiculously strong we weren't sure how to react – not that we had the time to," Emi explained. Her expression still seemed a bit incredulous.

"After the blast you got up on your feet again. Only, you seemed even less like yourself than before. Only by your expression one could tell it wasn't you who was controlling that body, but something completely else..." Suzuno added.

"The force emitting from you was much more than your body should've been able to handle. And since you somehow had magic stored inside you and we didn't, you were a dangerous one to be dealt with. You spat out some threatening words and a crazy laugh before materializing a sphere in your hand and starting to attack us and your surroundings. Since I felt like I was enough to deal with you, I decided to fight you alone and leave the protection of the unconcious people and the repairing of the city to the demons," Emi explained with a firm expression.

"And then I regained conciousness and the Church captured me, right?" I asked, looking through the faces in the room.

"That's right," Emi replied with a nod.

"...That sounds crazy," I replied, but still believed all of it to be true. I couldn't doubt it after talking to the voice in my head. I knew I heard it. I still felt like I should keep it to myself, maybe just to keep them from thinking I was going crazy.

"Are you... _alright_, Hana-dono?" Suzuno questioned as carefully as she could while circling behind me and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"A little better now that I actually know what happened... I still can't help but wonder why the Church captured me, though," I said.

"Wait, but didn't they just capture you to get the upper hand on demons or something?" Emi asked with her head slightly tilted to the side. Her expression also signaled confusion.

"That's what I thought at first, too, but there seemed to be something else as well..." I replied. "The command was apparently put out by another angel I used to know. I thought he was dead, but..."

"Ahh, is that so? Maybe there actually is something more complicated going on," Maou said, taking a pensive pose.

"Now that I think about it... Lucifer, I think you said you knew something?" Emi suddenly asked with a tone even more serious than before. Her eyes also seemed cold while staring at the other angel next to me. Everyone in the room followed Emi's line of sight to the NEET.

"...Lucifer?" I spoke with a few confused blinks to match his.

"..." Amethyst eyes moved to the table to avoid everyone's stares.

"Hey, don't even try avoiding the question you brat!" Emi exclaimed as she pounded one of her fists against the table.

"Emilia, watch what you're doing! You're damaging our furniture!" Ashiya complained. The complaint went ignored by her.

"Don't call me a brat when you yourself are only seventeen," Urushihara countered with annoyment in his tone.

"My age has nothing to do with your childishness," Emi replied with her patience wearing out more and more every second. "Now. Tell me what you know!"

"Well, that's..." Urushihara's gaze moved to the table top before reaching me. "You see, all I have right now is a guess."

"Spit it out, then!" Emi demanded.

"Seriously, Lucifer – you'd be better off not hiding anything at this point," Maou added. Urushihara kept his eyes on me before looking at Emi again.

"I don't think it's a good idea," he simply said.

"And why not?" Suzuno asked from the side. She seemed to be getting into the conversation as well.

"Because... I don't think I need to scare my girlfriend with nothing more but a guess when she's obviously already unstable," Urushihara said without looking at me. _Excuse me?_

"What makes you think I'm unstable?!" I suddenly exclaimed and instinctively leaned a bit closer to him, thus gaining his attention.

"Uh..."

"Seriously, what is it? Don't you think I deserve to know?!" I yelled and even rose to my feet. He stayed sitting and avoided looking at me.

"It's not like I don't want you to know, I just don't think it'd be a good idea right now...!" Urushihara finally countered my yelling.

"You're not my babysitter! I get to decide whether I can handle something or not!" I replied, obviously letting out all the emotion I was still holding in.

"Just sleep on it and I'll tell you! Seriously, quit your bitching already!" Urushihara yelled as he stood up as well.

"Alright, that's enough," Maou complained, breaking off the fight. "It's obvious everyone's a bit on the edge at the moment. Urushihara's right about sleeping on it. We'll talk more once you're feeling better," he said, pointing the last sentence to me in particular. It didn't take me long to calm down from my anger and compose myself again. _How did I even let myself act like that...?_

"R-right... Sorry," I said without looking at Urushihara. My face was getting red from losing control like that. _Maybe I really am unstable. _"Even though I think you're wrong, I'm gonna sleep on it. You just have to promise to tell me later," I told him. At first I didn't get a response, but after a while he nodded.

"...Well, I guess I'll be going back to my apartment," Emi said, slightly more calm than moments before. She stood up from her spot and grabbed her handbag.

"The same applies to me. I hope you have a good night's sleep, Emilia, Hana-dono," Suzuno said.

"Why only those two..." Urushihara muttered to himself before making his way to his laptop.

"You too," I replied with a small smile.


	29. Chapt 27 - Heartbreaks and heart aches 2

**[A/N]**

**[PART 2/2. To read part 1, go to the previous chapter!]**

* * *

Chapter 27 - Heartbreaks and heart aches (Part 2)

There was an unpleasant pounding in my head when I finally woke up. The sun was already high up and emitting it's light straight into my face through the window. I yawned in displeasure as I forced myself into a sitting position and looked around my apartment.

_I feel like I slept horribly last night_, I thought as I got up from my futon to stretch. _I think I saw some nightmare, too. _I dragged myself into the kitchen and started making myself a sandwitch and a simple glass of water.

It was easy to forget that Ayame wasn't there. She was often out or just reading a book when I finally decided to get up in the weekends and still sleeping when it was time for me to get to work. The only thing that alerted me of her missing precense was the lacking (though already very subtle) smell of freshly made tea.

I moved to the table with heavy steps and put down my breakfast before sitting down. I was about to take a bite of my cheese sandwitch when I accidentally moved my line of sight to my arms. The burns. They were fading.

I instinctively started studying my skin to see what the rest of the burns looked like and even checked the wings on my back. My wounds seemed to be healing at a splendid pace. Well, my physical wounds at least. I still couldn't shake the oppressive feeling of being alone in that dark room that surfaced every time I decided to close my eyes.

_Just... Why? _The question was still burning at the top of my mind. _Why would they...? _My hands tightened into fists. I knew it was a stupid question. They didn't do it because of me specifically... _Did they? _My heart skipped a beat every time my thoughts went back to Forcas. _It _was_ his order._

I ignored the questions at the top of my head, for my head was beginning to hurt much more noticably and tears were already forming at the corners of my eyes. I took a few deep breaths before starting to enjoy my breakfast with a reformed attitude.

* * *

I changed into a pair of black jeans (my t-shirt stayed the same, since it was difficult for me to change it by myself) and grabbed my phone from my black bag. At first I'd been confused about how it even found it's way into my apartment, but Chiho explained that Gina had picked it up from the ground before heading over. _Another thing I should be thanking her for._

I shook my thoughts of Gina and stuck the phone into my pocket before heading out of the apartment. Luckily Maou had arranged it so I didn't have to work for a few days, so I had time for my wounds to heal and my mental stability to grow.

Speaking of the Devil, I was on my way to enter his apartment at the moment. Well, not to meet him, but Urushihara, obviously. I wanted to inquire him more about what had happened, and, simply to spend time with him. I had missed his precense more than I dared to admit while on Ente Isla.

I once again entered the infamous apartment without even a knock and looked around.

"Hello, Wakahisa-san," Ashiya greeted from the small room. It looked like he was picking up clothes to take into the laundry room.

"Hello," I casually replied as I entered the apartment. I wasn't wearing any shoes since I only came from the apartment across the hall. "Maou-san isn't around?" I asked, holding the door open for Ashiya who was now leaving the apartment with a basket of dirty laundry.

"Maou-sama is at work, obviously," Ashiya sighed as he put on his shoes with one hand. It looked a bit difficult, and soon enough his grasp on the laundry basket loosened, causing him to almost drop it. I managed to grab it before that. "...Ah, thank you," he said before finishing putting on his shoes and taking the basket from me. The bitterness between us had mostly died off after 'the accident'.

"And Urushihara?" I asked as I looked around the room a second time. His computer was closed and there were no signs of anyone but Ashiya being there. Suddenly a displeased grunt was heard from Ashiya's part.

"He's still sleeping. If you want to wake him up, he's in the closet. I tried it earlier but only got grumbling as a response," he complained as he left the apartment, dodging my wings spreading out into the hallway pretty casually.

"How nice of you to let him sleep," I chuckled, but got no response as Ashiya disappeared towards the laundry room. I folded my wings a bit to properly get out of the doorway and close the door behind me.

_So even after something like this everyone's exactly the same._ I looked at the closet in thought before walking over to it. I sighed and a small smile spread across my face as I knocked on the closet door gently before opening it.

"Lucifer~" I purred at the sleeping demon.

"...Go away Ashiya," was the unclear mumble of the male.

"I'm not Ashiya, you idiot. Does he even call you Lucifer?" I complained with a bit more rough tone and expression. His hands automatically moved to the sides of his head and over his ears while he laid down in that small space meant for clothing. "Wake up," I ordered with a louder voice. "It's past noon you stupid NEET!"

"I'm sleeping, go away," he said with a more audible voice and turned his back to me. I sighed in annoyance.

"No, you promised to tell me the rest of what happened. You're waking up, now," I complained and opened up the closet door fully.

"...No," he mumbled. I gritted my teeth together and looked back into the apartment to figure out how to wake him. I could always have kicked him, but I didn't want to get violent if I didn't have to. The drapes were fully open, but the light wasn't reaching the inside of the closet properly.

"...I have food," I reluctantly grunted at the demon. That seemed to get his attention enough to move the hands from his ears.

"What kind of food...?" he asked in suspicion and carefully looked at me from behind his bangs.

"I'll order pizza if that gets you to get up," I said in defeat and sat down next to the closet. There was a short silence before he got up into a sitting position, yawned and stretched his arms. "Seriously, that worked?"

"So, are you gonna order pizza or what?"

About half an hour passed and we were sitting down at the table and opening up pizza boxes. Ashiya was still in the laundry room, most likely reading a book while the laundry machine was on, and we still had our privacy (if you didn't include the fact that the walls were paper thin).

During the time the pizzas took to get into the apartment Urushihara had gotten up, used the bathroom and opened up his computer. I had to let Urushihara handle my money and pay the pizza boy because I had to hide because of the obvious problem sprouting out of my back. I wasn't too keen on allowing whatever money I had on me in his hands, but then again, it wasn't much safer in my hands either.

After opening up the pepperoni pizza he'd gotten his attention hadn't left the computer screen once.

"Your plan is to ignore me the whole time I'm here, then?" I sighed and looked down at my own pizza, taking a slice from the box.

"Uh... Maybe?" he said, his words more of a question than a proper answer.

"You promised," I demanded. A sigh was heard from his part before his eyes finally left the computer screen.

"...I know," he said a bit reluctantly. I was a bit surprised that he actually complied so easily. He sat down at the same table with me and leaned his head against one of his hands. "So what was it that you wanted to know?" he spoke a bit lazily.

"Uh, I..." I looked down at the pizza slice in my hands. He took a slice from his own pizza and started eating it with a pleased look on his face. "This is what I've got down right now. At first I start receiving dark magic from people's negative emotions and... Go crazy, I guess. It's all a bit hazy in my mind. After that you guys find me and I fight with Emilia. Then I somehow lose control and then... I come back, I guess? Then I get captured by the Church for an unknown reason and then later you appear and save me. That's correct, right?" I inquire after going through the events that happened as clearly as possible.

"By what I've understood," Urushihara spoke while biting down on another pizza slice. He seemed uninterested in the facts I was compiling.

"Okay, so... My questions are, why did I go crazy in the first place? Why didn't I die fighting Emilia? Why did the Church capture me, and... How the fuck did you save me?" I asked, finally taking a bite of the pizza slice I was staring at.

"Yeah, uh, the first question is the same I have. I thought maybe you could tell me," Urushihara spoke with a displeased tone and looked at me. "I don't get it at all. What set you off?"

"Huh?"

"I don't understand everything either. None of us do. We just didn't want to ask you yesterday, because you'd just gone through a lot," he continued, putting down the half eaten slice and looking at me with an annoyed expression.

"I-I..." I felt so stupid at that moment. I had been completely oblivious to everyone else's emotions because I myself was too confused. That wasn't like me at all. It was unfair too. "I'm sorry, I didn't... It must've been... _weird_ seeing me act like that," I said after getting the situation.

"Honestly, I didn't know how to feel about it..." Urushihara said, looking at the table top. Silence followed for a moment with the both of us focused on eating.

"Do you want me to tell you what happened before I... went crazy?" I asked after eating some of my pizza. It was a topic I'd hoped I didn't have to talk about. It honestly felt more like a dream than reality.

"So something _did _happen," Urushihara replied as he once again put down the pizza. I nodded. "Then tell me."

"I, uh- I met a friend from the past. From Heaven," I said. That immediately got the other angel's attention. "He was a close friend before I left. He and a few others. And, uh... I sort of heard from him that two of them had died." Realization seemed to wash over Urushihara as soon as I said that. "But that's not all. See, the friend who hadn't died told me that, uh, he blames me for their deaths. After that, I felt so weird. It was a feeling I'd never felt before – it was downright scary.

"I didn't know what to do with an emotion like that. I had no idea. I didn't know how to express it either. At that moment, I think I thought that death was the only escape from the situation. So like me, now that I think about it.

"After talking to the friend I went over to Sariel to ask him about some things, and-"

"Wait, you went over to Sariel? Why would you do that?" Urushihara asked with a confused and incredulous expression.

"Eh? Well, he's an archangel, isn't he? I wanted to ask him about things concerning Heaven," I explained.

"He's not the only archangel around, you know," Urushihara complained.

"You don't know much about what's going on in Heaven at the moment. I see no point in coming to you," I said while rolling my eyes. "Besides, technically your status is Fallen Angel."

"Ah, whatever. Just continue with your story already," the former archangel said in annoyance and with a hint of jealousy in his words.

"...Yeah, so. After Sariel kicked me out of his office-"

"He kicked out a pretty girl like you?"

"ANYWAY, after he kicked me out, I went out and... I don't know what happened... My body just gave out. The emotions I was carrying at the moment, they were way too heavy. And then... I saw him again. My friend who called me a killer. At that moment, I think something snapped inside my head. I attacked him, and after that... Everything became a bit blurry," I said.

"Quite the story," Urushihara said. "I... had no idea."

"Of course you didn't. I didn't tell you before. I... didn't really wanna tell anyone," I admitted, my heart pounding like crazy. I stared at the table top with a neutral expression. "I guess it's hard for me to believe myself..."

"You... Do seem like the closed off type – I would know. I'm surprised you actually told me," he said with an unreadable expression. He didn't really seem happy or depressed, just... like himself. "You know, your first question was a bit pointless since you actually did manage to answer it yourself."

"Ah... Sort of, yeah. But that's not quite what I meant with it. I know what... _emotionally_ set me off, but I don't know _what_ set me off. To be honest, all of my questions concerning about myself pretty much boil into one simple one: Who am I?" I said. I blinked when I noticed Urushihara staring at me. "W-what is it?"

"...Well, ever since you're back from Ente Isla, you're just... different," he said.

"Uh... It was sort of a life-changing experience, I guess..." I pondered. "Although I'd say my whole life has been a rollercoaster of me going through different phases."

"Is that so?" Urushihara asked in doubt.

"Yeah, well... I actually used to be very rebellious for a long time. I was lonely and confused. After that I found friends and just... Became... Numb, I guess. After coming to Japan I've been experiencing so many changes from my normal life that I've been emotional and scared and... All that. After being locked in a cold, dark cell for some time I think I've got most of that sorted out, though. I feel... Much more... Calm, since today. I still don't feel like everything's perfect and I most certainly don't feel like _I'm_ perfect, it's just that... It's... fine." I raised my eyes from the table top to Urushihara again, a familiar heat taking over my cheeks. "Ahh, sorry, I didn't mean to ramble!" He blinked a couple of times before bursting out into laughter.

"No, I was wrong – you're still the same," he said between laughs.

"Is... that so?" I asked with my cheeks completely red. I wasn't sure if I was happy or disappointed. "A-anyway... I still wanted to ask you about other things."

"Yeah, yeah... Ask away. I don't think I have much to hide after hearing that..." he said, amusement still apparent in his voice.

"So, uh... How did you manage to get to Ente Isla and find me? If you managed to create a portal with your magic, why didn't everyone leave? I thought you planned to," I inquired.

"Well, uh... I sort of used the portal that the people from the Church used. After fighting against the angel – that I guess was the friend you were talking about – and him escaping, I managed to stop the portal from closing for a little while more to slip through. When I got to the other side of the portal, you were gone, but I managed to track you after a few days and got you out," he explained.

"To think you went through all that... for me," I said, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Uh... Well..." Now it was his turn to get slightly embarrased.

"But, so, when you opened up another portal from Ente Isla to Tokyo, you didn't all go back to Ente Isla but... stayed here. Why?" I asked.

"Uh, well, Maou and Ashiya have ties over here, and at the moment, I wouldn't want to leave my internet..." he vaguely answered the question. "Besides, we all think that t's safer here than Ente Isla at the moment."

"Oh, so that's what it is..." I spoke mostly to myself. I was soon reminded of another topic. "I saw your clothes after returning to Tokyo. They were completely stained in blood. I didn't wanna say anything about it, but..." I said, uncomfortably running a hand through my hair.

"I tried not to kill anyone, just so you know," Urushihara replied. "Maou probably wouldn't have liked it if I would've, since he's got this new found interest in humans."

"Uh huh. You aren't telling that to him, am I right? You're just gonna let him believe whatever," I asked.

"I think he knows anyway," he mumbled a bit unclear. I heard him, but I wasn't sure if he knew that or not. I decided to drop the subject.

"...So I guess you can only look at my kill count this time around," I sighed. "Do you know of any casualties?"

"...I only know that a bunch of people were hurt," he said. That made me feel a bit better at least.

"That's good I guess," I replied. I wasn't sure if he was lying for my sake, but if he was, I wanted to respect that. He was usually so blunt with his words. "There's one more thing I wanted to talk to you about..."

"...That's the thing Emilia mentioned, right?" he immediately guessed. I nodded as a confirmation.

"You said you have a guess. A guess on... _what_, exactly?"

"On who you really are," Urushihara said with a serious tone. At that _exact_ moment I heard my phone go off. _What a convenient timing_, I though as I found the device from my bag with a sigh. My eyes widened a bit when I saw the caller.

"It's me," I said as soon as I put the phone against my ear. "What's up?" I asked the caller.

"_Hana-chan, I just thought I'd tell you what I'm going to do right now. Just so you know. Because of these odd circumstances and all, I mean..."_ Gina said with an uncharacteristicly unsure tone.

"What is it?" I asked, waiting for her to explain the situation. A loud sigh was heard from the other end.

"_I'm... I'm going to tell Maou-san how I feel,"_ she said. _...Wait, what?_

"W-what? Even though you know he's Satan?!" I exclaimed. "For real?!"

"_Y-yes. I just... kept thinking about it, you know? I don't think I can shake this feeling without talking to him. I'm heading over to his apartment right now. Do you know if he's home yet?"_

"Uh... Eh... Not yet, no," I replied with clear confusion and looked out from the nearest window.

"_You're at his place right now, then? M-maybe I could... talk to you a bit more before talking to him. I know I was a bit jumpy yesterday, but I've really thought about things now and... Yeah. I'm a lot calmer now. Though it's still hard to believe..."_

"I-I guess we could talk..." I said while turning to look at Urushihara. He was calmly enjoying his pizza without even being bothered by me or the fact that I'd abandoned him in the middle of our conversation. He took a quick glance at me when he noticed I was staring.

"_Great... I'll be over soon,"_ she said before hanging up. She seemed a bit panicky talking like that and didn't even say goodbye. I stared at my phone for a moment before slipping it back inside the bag I had laid on the floor near the table.

"Sorry about that," I said and sat down to my original spot, cleaning up my clothes a little bit as I did. I took a look at the pizza Urushihara was eating and noted that it was almost gone. "You really like pizza, don't you?" I chuckled.

"Who doesn't like pizza?" he replied with a smile. I couldn't help but smile as well, seeing him like that.

"Vegetarians?" I guessed.

"There's vegetarian pizza," he retorted.

"Ahh, touché," I replied, another chuckle escaping my lips. "Gina's coming over, if you were wondering," I said, referring to the phone call that interrupted him.

"I wasn't, but okay," he replied like a bored teenager.

"You don't care?" I asked with a smile, stating the sentence as more like a fact than a question.

"Not really, no," he said, finishing the rest of his pizza in one go. For some reason his attitude just made me smile. He stayed the same person I liked so much even after the things that had happened in the past few days. On the other hand, it just told me about him as a person – about what he'd gone through in the past. This probably seemed more normal to him than anything, when I thought about it. I also liked how his perception of me didn't change much no matter what I did. _I think I really..._

"I think I love-" I stopped what I was saying, staring at him with wide eyes. He'd also completely stopped what he was doing, and the both of us were staring at the other with slight fear in our eyes. I didn't know how I'd almost slipped that. "...PIZZA as well," I exclaimed in embarrasment and jumped a bit back in my spot. My wings also twitched a bit upwards.

"...Nice save," he said a little bit panicky.

"Thank you," I replied with the same panic in my voice. I cleared my throat before not-so-smoothly changing the subject. "So~ uh, about what we were talking about before the phone call...!" I spoke in a forced manner.

"Ahh! Yeah, that...!" he played along immediately. "What was I saying about that again?" The both of us took a deep breath before entering the subject seriously.

I was glad we avoided the subject from before, even if not so gracefully. A worn out six tatami apartment of Villa Rosa Sasazuka after talking about serious subjects or out of a whim of emotion didn't seem like the right place or time to say such things. Not to mention that we were both cowards when it came to expressing our emotions to each other.

"Uh... So... Yeah. You think... you know who I am? Meaning... You don't think I'm who I currently am...?" I spoke in unclear terms, trying to comprehend the other's words from earlier. He nodded a bit reluctantly.

"I... think there might be more to you than you think. More than I thought at first, too," he replied. His 'serious mode' had been switched on for the topic again.

"Who... do you think I _am_, then?" I went straight to the point of the matter. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"Don't freak out, okay? It's just a guess," he said. _Huh? It's really that bad?_

"Just tell me," I asked, reaching out a hand to grab his. He went a bit red in the face but continued anyway.

"I think you... might not be an angel," he said. _What...?_

"What?" I repeated the question in my mind out loud. I also let go of his hand and looked at him in complete and utter confusion. "I... might not be an angel? What does that mean?"

"Exactly that. I think... You might've been something completely else before becoming an angel," Urushihara continued. My brain was trying to register what he was saying properly.

"W-what does that mean? I have no memories of..." I panicked a bit. My whole identity that I'd only just now accepted, wasn't mine after all?

"I think your memories got destroyed when they made you an angel. That's what I think," he said. I simply stared at him, waiting for him to say something else. Anything to make sense of the situation.

"T-then... What am I if not an angel?!" I exclaimed as I got up on my feet, my hands squeezing into fists. "I don't understand!" I yelled. After that Urushihara got up as well.

"I... don't know," he replied with an awfully honest way of speaking. My heart was racing and sweat was forming on my forehead. I felt my whole body starting to shake. _Then... It was all a lie after all? I really don't belong where I stand...?! _That's when I felt a hand on my cheek. "H-hey, calm down. It's fine, see?" Urushihara spoke in a calming tone. It was obvious from the way he spoke that he hadn't done anything of this sort before.

"...I don't think it is," I said with my voice shaking and the tears forming into my eyes falling down my face. It made too much sense. It made way too fucking much sense. That's why it scared me. Urushihara seemed visibly uncomfortable trying to handle the situation. I swallowed, slowly taking control of my body again.

It was silent for a moment with me wiping my tears and calming down my shaking body. I took a few deep breaths before looking at the fallen angel again, trying to force a smile on my features. That seemed to make him even more uncomfortable.

"Crying's not gonna help me much... It's probably better if I don't," I said, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little. "Gina-chan's gonna come over soon. I don't want her to see me like this," I continued after receiving no response. Urushihara nodded and moved the hand he was holding against my face. Neither of us knew what to say next.

Luckily, neither of us had to say anything. We were both alerted by a voice coming from the yard.

"_Maou-san...!" _was what we heard. _Gina... chan?_ I thought as I turned to look towards the window again. Then I noticed the door to the apartment open and me and Urushihara both turned to look at Ashiya, who walked inside with a basket full of wet laundry.

"What?! You ordered pizza while I was gone?" were his first words after coming inside and laying eyes on the pizza boxes at the table. "That had better not cost much!"

"N-no, she paid for them..." Urushihara spoke a bit awkwardly, being shaken from the previous heavy atmosphere so suddenly.

"Ahh... Wakahisa-san, you don't need to pay for everything _he_ orders you to..." Ashiya began, but I interrupted him.

"No, it was my idea...! It's fine," I replied with a broken smile.

"Ahh, if that's the case, then I suppose it's fine," he said and laid down the laundry basket in his hands. Then he started taking off his shoes.

"_Hello, Maou-san..." _another noise from the outside alerted us all to the window again. Ashiya took off his shoes and made his way over to the window to see what we were looking at.

"What's going on?" he asked as soon as he saw the scene presented to him.

"Shh!" I ordered him to quiet down. I wanted to see what would follow as well. The three of us looked outside the window, some of us with less interest than the others, carefully studying the layout in front of us.

Maou was parking his bike outside the building in his casual clothing and Gina was standing next to him. She was wearing an expensive-looking shirt and her hair was on a neat braid over her shoulder. She was also wearing her favorite jeans, as far as I could tell. Their voices were clearly heard through the thin walls of Villa Rosa.

"I haven't seen Gina-san since the chaos of yesterday," Maou said to the girl with his usual smile. Gina seemed a little unsure of her body movements; it was obvious to everyone but apparently Maou. "I'm glad to see you're not too upset about things..." he said while casually rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, n-no! Umm... Uh, Maou-san..." Gina stuttered. Ashiya seemed to have taken more interest in the scene now, and Urushihara seemed to have lost all of his. He backed away from the window and left me and Ashiya stare at the scene by ourselves.

"Hm? What is it?" Maou asked, obviously completely oblivious to Gina's emotions. The girl flinched a bit when addressed by the Demon King.

"Ahh! It's... Uh... I'm a bit weirded out by what I heard but um... It hasn't changed my opinion about all of you, much..." she stuttered, her cheeks turning the same colour mine usually would.

"Oh, you're taking it well, like Chiho did. I'm glad," Maou said, his smile widening a bit.

"Maou-san!" Gina suddenly exclaimed. It really did seem like she hadn't confessed her feelings to anyone before.

"W-what?!" her sudden exclaim made Maou take a scared step back and cover himself with his arms, like he was about to get hit.

"I-I-I-I...!" the blue-haired girl stuttered.

"I-is everything alright?" Maou asked when he finally realized her nervousness.

"I'm sorry about stuttering, i-it's not like me..." she said, holding her burning cheeks.

"It's, it's fine," Maou chuckled a bit awkwardly. "If you have something to say, you can."

"Um..." Gina stared at the ground in front of her feet. "Maou-san... I... actually... really really like you," she spoke a bit unclearly.

"...Huh?" Maou seemed a bit confused, maybe because he couldn't understand her or maybe because he actually could.

"I really, really like you. As... more than a friend. I've liked you for a long time now, and... Uh... I'd... I'd like to date you!" Gina confessed her feelings as a nervous mess, avoiding eye contact with Maou, who seemed very flustered by her confession.

"What... I... I had no idea..." he said, shock apparent in his attitude. I took a quick glance at Ashiya, who's expression had gotten more and more focused the longer the scene presented to us continued. It was like he was watching a big reveal in a soap opera.

"I... I don't know if I would've said it so straight if I hadn't gotten to know about your real identities just now... I didn't know how to feel about them... I felt like I had to say something, you know?" Gina kept staring at the ground like it was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen.

"Uh... I don't know how to respond to that, honestly..." Maou said, the smile worn out from his face. "For some reason, I'm really bad at noticing how girls feel lately..."

"I don't care about that, Maou-san. W-what I really wanted to know about... Is... That, do you, by any chance, feel the same way?" Gina asked, her gaze moving from the ground to Maou. I knew this wasn't something I should be spying on, but that didn't stop me nor Ashiya.

There was a short silence between them, and it was visible in Gina's eyes how all the hope she had crumbled down into nothingness.

"So that's a no then... I... I understand," she simply said. It looked to me like she was holding back tears.

"It's... Not quite like you think," Maou responded with a small smile. "It's not like I don't think you're a nice girl, it's... Well, someone else confessed to me before you did," he continued. Gina looked at him a bit confused.

"A-and you like her back?" she asked. Maou shook his head.

"It's not like that either. It's more like... I didn't give her an answer. And... I don't think I should be engaging with other girls while I've left her hanging with my response," Maou explained, trying to be considerate of the other's feelings and yet explain the situation as well as he could.

"Is... that so?" Gina asked.

"I'm still glad that you told me. I don't think I would've noticed otherwise... I hope it doesn't bother you anymore," Maou said, trying to comfort the other with his expression. Gina took a quick look at the ground again before backing away.

"No... It doesn't..." she replied.

"That's good," he said, obviously beginning to notice how his words affected her mood.

"I... I'll see you another time!" Gina exclaimed, unable to compress her emotions anymore. She twirled around and started running away from Maou before he could stop her.

"Ahh- wait!" he yelled, but it was no use. The girl was already gone. Maou sighed deeply before heading over to the staircase leading to Villa Rosa. Just so it happened, he took a quick look up before taking the stairs, and...

Well, I couldn't see what he did after that, since both me and Ashiya cowered away from the window, trying to avoid his line of sight.

"That was close!" I whispered.

"Act normally!" Ashiya whispered back.

* * *

As soon as Maou entered the apartment he was met with a fairly ordinary sight. Ashiya was hanging the laundry, Urushihara was on his computer and I was eating the leftovers of my pizza. Only the expression on mine and Ashiya's face probably seemed a bit forced.

"I'm back," Maou said after stopping in the door frame and taking a look inside.

"Welcome back, Maou-sama!" Ashiya greeted his master and bowed.

"Man, I'm hungry... What's for dinner?" he asked and Ashiya headed over to him to discuss about the meal.

"...Idiots," Urushihara mumbled behind me and I gave his back a cold stare. It seemed like he sensed that and decided to pick a feather from my wings.

"KYA!" I yelled at the sensation. "That was mean! I hate you!" I exclaimed as overly exaggerated as I could. The action made my focus to go to my wings, so I petted the poor little things after folding them in front of me. I ran my fingers through the dark feathers, studying the colour properly for the first time.

While studying my wings, I noticed something. The wounds on them, the ones where the spheres had pierced them, were practically gone. The was no pain and I could only notice the difference when I felt the wounds with my hands.

"Wow... They're healed. So quickly," I spoke mostly to myself, but audible enough for other's to notice as well.

"Great," Urushihara said with his monotone and looked over his shoulder to me. I hugged the now healed wings against my body and rubbed my cheek against the soft feathers.

"Does that mean you can now make them disappear? We could use the extra magic," Ashiya asked from the kitchen. I looked at him with confusion. "Besides... You're sheading black feathers everywhere..."

"What do you mean 'we'?" I asked as I allowed my wings to go into a resting position.

"Well, you're pretty much a demon now, aren't you? That means we share a source of magic," Ashiya continued. I hadn't really thought about that, since only the colour of my wings had experienced major changes since before.

"It's true. Go look at a mirror," Urushihara confirmed. I blinked and got up from my spot. I headed into the bathroom, keeping the door open to allow my wings more space, and looked at the mirror.

At first everything seemed normal, so I didn't feel alerted. Upon a closer look on my face, however, I realized what had changed.

"...My eyes!" I said as realization hit me. I leaned closer to the mirror to study the now slitted pupils in my eyes. "That might explain why my eyesight was so good even underground... How did I not notice it before?"

"Yeah. That's not all that's changed about you. How you use your magic is different as well," Urushihara commented before turning back to his computer. I hadn't really thought about that either, since during the fight I wasn't really myself and the healing process happened naturally. I studied the feeling of dark magic inside my body with curiosity.

"I'm surprised it doesn't bother you that you've suddenly become a demon," Maou commented from the kitchen when I stepped out of the bathroom.

"Well... Uh... To be honest, I sort of forgot until now..." I admitted. I didn't want to say anything, but there was something... _familiar_, about how I felt. That added even more into the speculation of me not being an angel.

"How can you forget something like that..." Urushihara commented again.

"...It must've been under different circumstances for you," I said with a chuckle.

"Uh," was the only response I got for that.

"You know, it's kind of hard for you to be on Emi's side anymore... You've probably realized that by now," Maou said.

"Yeah, I know... She made it pretty clear as well," I replied with a small smile. I wasn't too sad about that, since I wasn't the one who made the arrangement in the first place.

"So... I think you should consider joining our side instead," Maou suddenly suggested. That got the attention of everyone in the room.

"Maou-sama?!" Ashiya asked in surprise.

"M-me?" I asked, pointing at myself like he possibly could've meant someone else there.

"Yeah. I mean, at least for a little while. Going from and angel to a demon must be a big change, so you probably need us to adapt anyway," Maou reasoned. I blinked, thinking about his suggestion seriously.

"Well, we do actually have someone who's gone through a similar kind of thing, so..." Ashiya said while taking a look at Urushihara. "It would be about time for you to do something useful, too."

"Yeah, Urushihara. You should be responsible of her for now. You're the same as her and you're even dating. If I've understood anything correctly, she's already under your command, too..." Maou spoke cheerily about such a thing.

"Ah, well..." Urushihara took a quick look at me, like asking me for permission.

"What do you say, just for now?" Maou asked with a wide smile. I blinked again and then looked down at my hands, where I was currently focusing some of the magic in my body. Would it be the right decision?

"Why not," I finally replied, copying the wide smile on Maou's face.

"Great, it's settled then!" Maou said and clapped once to strenghten his point.

"I hope that doesn't mean we have to participate in her living expenses as well..." Ashiya spoke with a slightly horrified tone.

"Eh, no...! It's fine, I work at MgRonald's as well, right?" I chuckled. "I can support myself. But... Uh... There's something I still wanted to ask concerning what happened with the Church..."

"Hmm?" Maou's smile disappeared as he readied himself to talk about something more serious.

"Aren't you worried that they'll come after me... after us, again?" I questioned. The atmosphere didn't become too heavy, which I was glad for.

"Well, I don't honestly think they'll dare to do an attack like that again. I could tell the first one was already risky for them, and it ended badly as well. They're too scared of the power of the mighty Demon King-sama to..." Ashiya started praising his master, only the get interrupted by Maou himself.

"Uhh, sure, and besides... As far as I know, we've been announced dead on Ente Isla. If they were to try something like that again and attract me or Emi there, it could gather some unwanted attention for them," Maou added.

"That makes sense," I replied, thinking about the matter. "Maou-san is so nice to me, no matter what I do," I spoke, changing the topic from the previous one.

"Huh? Uh... Well, everyone makes mistakes..." Maou replied with an awkward chuckle. It was so weird how the Demon King could act so nicely towards an angel – well, I wasn't a pure angel anymore, but still.

Soon I heard my phone go off again and headed over to it, finally making my wings disappear while I did. Ashiya seemed to grunt at the amount of feathers flying around and started gathering them from the floor and other surfaces. I gave him an apologetic look before looking at the text message I'd received.

_**Gina Matsuoka**_

**Hana-chan, something happened, so I'm not actually coming over after all. Don't worry, it's nothing too serious! I just have something else to do, that's all. See you another time.**

I sighed when looking at the message, recalling the situation that happened right before Maou entered the apartment. She apparently had no idea I'd witnessed it, how could she after all? I didn't want to force her to talk about it, and I guessed she needed some alone time at the moment.

_**You**_

**Oh, okay, I'll talk to you later then.**

I closed the flip phone and looked outside the window. It was so different from what I'd gone through with Urushihara in every way. I couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if the Demon King would've actually returned her feelings.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Phew! Thank you for reading this chapter. It was mostly a one big info dump, but I hope I managed to slip some personality in there somewhere. Why won't you review and tell me what you thought about this chapter? ^^**


	30. Chapter 28 - Angels and Demons

**[A/N]**

**Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while... School, friends and the internet have been consuming my time like I consume sweets. I'm gonna do a thing on my profile where I tell you what's going on in my life atm in order for you to see why I'm not uploading chapters.**

**We're so close to the end I kinda just wanna get this done. I still love writing the story, it's just that WE'RE SO CLOSE!**

**I really hope you'll enjoy this chapter, I had to rewrite parts of it because of my dumbness.**

* * *

Chapter 28 – Angels and Demons

I was standing at the window of the apartment that belonged to the three demons I was now allied with. I was focused on staring out and allowing my thoughts to wonder. The events happening to me seemed to be calming down, before another storm no doubt.

My thoughts were interrupted by a voice I could never complain about hearing.

"Couldn't you chase after her now?" my beloved NEET questioned and alerted me to his presense. That's when I realized where I was and with whom.

"Huh?" I hadn't expected him to speak of Gina in front of Maou, since we'd been spying on the two. "But-"

"Not after _her_, after Ayame Honda," Lucifer interrupted as he quickly noticed I had mistaken of the person.

"Oh..." The thought registered into my brain and my eyes automatically moved to the floor.

"That's right, we haven't heard of Honda-san since a few days ago... What happened to her?" Ashiya questioned after taking an interest in the topic. He was sitting down at the table with Maou, while Lucifer was standing near his computer. When he stood up, I had no clue.

"I was told she moved to another friend's house," I spoke with an awkward smile.

"Really?" Maou asked with his head slightly tilted. It seemed to have come as a surprise for everyone in the room. "I thought you were close friends."

"So did I," I replied with a bittersweet tone. A short, slightly awkward pause followed as everyone took some time to process the new situation.

"I guessed something was wrong when we didn't hear anything from her, but..." Maou began, but trailed of after examining my expression. "Sorry, I know it's none of my business."

"No, it's fine... I've been thinking about her as well as other things. I think Lucifer's right, I should at least try calling her now that I'm calm," I said and turned to look at the purple haired demon. "Could we talk privately for a moment?" I asked him with a slightly shy tone.

"...Uh, sure," he replied as calm as ever. I signaled him to follow me and entered the hallway. He followed me and closed the door after us before we entered my apartment.

Lucifer was quick to find a spot in the kitchen and lean his weight against the counters.

"So, what's this about?" he asked with an expressionless face.

"I just..." I sighed before continuing. "When I'll talk to Ayame next, I'm most likely going to learn things about myself. Things that I'm not sure if I want to learn..."

"You... think my theory might be true, right?"

"Yeah, I do. And if it is... then everything that I've gained this far is going to be for nothing. I will be for nothing... And... I don't want to be that..." I stared at the floor, holding back my tears. "I had just excepted myself and-"

"Drea," Lucifer interrupted me with his sharp tone and eyes, leaving me completely frozen under his gaze. "Uh..." the sharpness in his tone disappeared soon after our eyes met.

I had fallen completely silent, since Lucifer rarely called me by my angelic name. I didn't mind it, since I didn't dislike my current one, but it made my real one more effective when said out loud. My eyes escaped to the floor and I just stood there, waiting for him to scold me.

"It's okay even if you're not who you think you are... right? You'll still be the same person," Lucifer said as he avoided eye contact with me. My eyes rose from the floor to his face and I studied his expression carefully. He seemed flustered and nervous, the way he became when his feelings were involved.

"No, it's not okay...! I've been living a false life if what you say has any truth in it... I don't want that," I exclaimed in frustration and watched as the other demon flinched.

"Why is it so bad if your life has been false? I mean, all the things that've happened to you-"

"All the things that have happened to me have been bad!" I yelled as I franctically waved my arms around. That left Lucifer speechless.

"All the things...?" he repeated after me, ending the short silence between us. That in turn left me speechless. "Sometimes... I don't get you at all. First you say you really like me, then you say you don't, and then you almost say you... _love..._ me. And now this! You must understand why I'm starting to think you're going crazy, right?" Lucifer replied with his cheeks getting more and more buried under the bright red colour.

"I-I... It's just... I'm just very confused at the moment... I think..." I replied in stutters as I backed away from Lucifer, not daring enough to look him in the eye.

"Sometimes... Sometimes I think it'd be easier if we just broke up," Lucifer said, making me automatically snap up my head and look at him in shock. "Not that I'm breaking up with you...!" he quickly added.

"D-don't scare me like that please! I know I must be very confusing right now... But please bear with it! Please!" I exclaimed as I bowed down to the higher ranked angel, my heart beating like crazy and the corners of my eyes filling with tears.

"S-stop with that..." Lucifer said in embarrasment as he forced me to get up. The situation was getting more and more awkward by the second, and so were we. "Listen, no matter how you feel about me right now, I still... I still like you. You don't need to say things like that," he said, still avoiding eye contact with me like a child would.

"You know... Even though I give you a hard time... It makes me happy to hear that," I said after regaining my ability to smile again. Then, before he could react I leaned against him and wrapped my arms around his neck, making him stumble back a bit because of the sudden impact. I could feel his fastened heartbeat as he slowly reached his arms around my back.

"Uh..." he made an awkward sound and I let myself get engulfed in the heat that left his body because of all the embarrasment.

"It's so funny... Even though we've known each other for a while now, we're still so awkward around each other," I voiced my thoughts as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"...It's just that I'm not used to this stuff," Lucifer responded a bit reluctantly. That made me chuckle.

"Me neither."

* * *

"So you're going now?" Lucifer asked from my table. Some time had passed since our brief discussion and after that he'd taken refugee on my computer.

"I am," I replied with a nod from the door. I'd changed my shirt and thrown a light jacket over it. I picked up my bag from the ground and threw it on my shoulder. "I'll see you later," I replied with a faint smile. He nodded as well before turning back to the computer.

I left the building and flinched at the sunlight I was meeting for the first time in a few days. My apartment had windows, of course, but it wasn't the same as being outdoors. I sucked the fresh air into my lungs, already sensing the nearing fall in the smell.

"Summer's already nearing it's end... Time passes so fast," I mumbled in thought as I started making my way calmly towards Etsuko's apartment. I'd scouted the place from one of her friends online before leaving.

The way over was surprisingly short. It seemed like Etsuko'd moved into the same area as I had. Her budjet must've been in the same limits as mine and Ayame's when school ended.

Soon I reached an apartment building slightly larger than Villa Rosa. It wasn't only bigger, it was nicer-looking as well. It was a new building with a dark coloring and an unbroken set of stairs. I couldn't help but frown in jealousy for that part.

_Let's see... Apartment 413, was it?_ I thought as I got out the piece of paper I'd written the address on. I went up the stairs and looked for the right door number.

_Ah, here it is, _I thought as I gently pushed the doorbell. It made a surprisingly pleasant sound that could be heard outside as well.

I didn't have to wait long before I heard footsteps nearing the door. Then I listened to the handle being turned and instinctively stepped aside when the door was finally opened.

"Hana-san?" Etsuko questioned in surprise after looking me up and down.

"Hey, Etsuko-san... Is Ayame here?" I asked, trying to peep inside the apartment. She stepped in front of my line of sigh, forcing my attention go back to her.

"I didn't think you'd come after her this late," she said in disbelief as she leaned against the door frame. "Say, do you have anything to say to me...?" she added with an annoyed stare.

"Huh? Oh, about..." I trailed off in order to find out what exactly she was referring to.

"About you leaving me so rudely! Aren't you going to apologize for making me look bad in front of my friends?" she asked, one of her brows twitching.

_Oh, so the demons _did _wipe her memory... _I expected it, but it was good to have a confirmation.

"Oh, that..." I said with a nervous chuckle, making her annoyed attitude grow.

"Listen, if you don't do something to fix your mistakes, I can make your life very unpleasant...!" Etsuko hissed and stomped one of her feet against the ground.

"I understand, and I will talk with you if you want to fix things... But right now it's very important that I get to talk to Ayame-chan," I replied as calmly as I could, trying to see inside her apartment again. I got distracted by her slightly calmed down attitude, raising a brow at the girl.

"You... Seem much more mature these days," she muttered, leaving me confused and waiting for her to continue. "Ugh, forget about it... Anyway, if you really want to talk to Ayame, she left about fifteen minutes ago."

"Huh? She left? Where?" I followed with a series of questions in a worried tone.

"To the bus station... You can still catch her if you run," Etsuko said, taking a quick look at the ground in order to... avoid eye contact? _With me?_

"Etsuko-san...?" I questioned before running off after my friend. I was too distracted by the current situation to properly worry about what she was doing.

"..." Etsuko kept staring at the ground for a while. "I... Still want to be friends with you," she said, looking back at me with a frustrated sigh. "Even though you're difficult and immature... Maybe you just grew on me." That stopped me completely, leaving me to stare at her in newly found surprise.

After standing there like an idiot for a while, I couldn't help but give her a faint smile. _I guess I have to... _I thought as I realized I'd get to use the ability I learned – just in case – before leaving the house.

"I'm sorry, Etsuko," I replied, leaving the girl speechless for a while. A green flash of light took over my eyes for a second as I made her fall into a trance-like state. "It'd be better if you were to just forget about me," I said with a faint smile still on my lips.

"...Yes," Etsuko replied in a monotone voice before closing the door between us, like under orders. _That was way harder than I thought... I'm glad it worked._ _It's better not to get her involved in my current affairs_, I thought with a small bit of sadness I'd never thought I'd experience for her.

A lot of my leftover magic was used on that one, simple spell, so I wouldn't be doing anymore spells for the time being.

Soon my thoughts were directed onto the more urgent matter at hand and before I knew it, I was sprinting towards the bus station as fast as I could. Only one thought was running through my head: _I hope I'll catch her in time._

* * *

My pants were getting more and more intense the farther I ran and I was starting to feel a sharp pain in my chest. My whole untrained body was aching as I did my best to reach the bus station. I was more than halfway there, but there was still some doubt about if I'd make it.

I started feeling the pain of my bag pressing against my shoulder when I finally saw the lights of the station and allowed myself to start taking heavier breaths. I saw a lot of people and a few buses coming and going, but no Ayame yet.

I stopped in order to take a few breaths and look around. I was going to run into the station building on my right, but my body was feeling the stress of running all the way there and didn't let me take even a step. I took a shaky step towards the station, but my legs gave out and I lumped on my knees and my bag jerked off my shoulder.

I kept taking short, hasty breaths and tried to shake of my blurring vision in order to see where Ayame might be.

_That's right, the phone... _I thought as I shakily reached for my bag and took out my phone. It was hard to find Ayame's number with the phone almost slipping out of my hands, but somehow I did it. I called the number and pressed the phone on my ear, waiting for her to pick up.

The phone kept beeping, like it had done every time I'd tried to call her in the last days. She hadn't picked up once, but it seemed like I was out of options. I needed to talk to her, no matter what.

My vision was getting blurrier again and I accidentally let the phone slip from my hand when checking that it was still indeed calling. It took my brain a moment to register the slip and I reached for the phone on the ground. My breathing was already calming down, but a wave of heat traveled through every inch of my body and left me numb.

That's when I realized someone had picked the phone from the ground and was offering it to me in front of me. I moved my eyes from the phone to the one holding it only to meet a familiar pair of eyes. Ayame was staring at me with an annoyed look.

"Idiot. You shouldn't have rushed over here so carelessly," she taunted as I took the phone from her hand and clumsily put it inside my bag. After that she grabbed the bag from me and offered to help me up. "Come on... I'll buy you water inside the station."

I was so relieved. I made it in time. A tired sigh escaped my lips as I allowed the blonde to help me on my shaky feet.

* * *

We were sitting down on one of the benches inside the station and I was gulping water from a plastic bottle like I'd spent a week on the desert. After the bottle was almost empty I took a deep breath in order to restore the oxygen in my lungs and slowly turned to look at my former roommate.

She was looking at the floor with a wistful look on her face. I imagined she'd wanted to leave without me even knowing, but it still didn't explain anything. I was still ignorant about everything she was feeling.

The silence between us continued for a while, maybe because neither of us really knew how to start the conversation.

"Why didn't you tell me... you were leaving...?" I carefully asked and earned a sad chuckle for that.

"I thought it'd be easier if we didn't talk about it," she replied, still eyeing the floor. "It would've been, to be honest... I guess I should've known that nothing's easy when it comes to you."

"I-is that so? I'm sorry for causing you trouble," I shyly replied, taking my eyes off the other as well.

"Don't apologize, I've told you that before as well," Ayame replied in an annoyed tone and I saw her looking at me from the corner of my eye.

"Ah, sor- Erm, nothing," I awkwardly replied. "But... Last time you told me not to do it if I didn't mean it."

"Well do you mean it this time?" the girl asked with a lighter tone than before.

"I think I do... If this is what it feels like to be serious," I half-muttered the last part. That earned a raised eyebrow from the other.

"What happened to you on Ente Isla?" Ayame carelessly asked, leaving me slightly uncomfortable. She noticed that very quickly and aimed to change the subject. "Uh... I can see you look a little different. I already knew you became a demon, but... There's a whole new air around you."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me," I responded in an emotionless tone. The casual conversation wasn't exactly why I wanted to talk to Ayame, but there was a fear echoing in my heart about the things I really wanted to discuss.

"Drea." The usage of my angelic name alerted me to the other person right away. "I'm sorry for not telling you about my leaving, but... You need to understand there is a reason for that."

"I'm just suprised you'd trust the apartment and everything else to me..." I replied, trying to make the subject a bit lighter once more. Soon I realized that my effort was in vain: There was no going back after opening Pandora's box.

"It's something that I thought I'd never discuss with you, but... This sort of thing happened to me once before. It all felt too familiar..." Ayame began, trying her best to avoid any details.

"Is... Is this about your sister?" Her head snapped up at the mentioning of the red-haired girl in one of her paintings. "Do I remind you of her?" Ayame hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"You do. Not by your looks, but your reckless, childish behaviour... I loved her, but in the end she did something similar to you, something stupid, and..." Ayame trailed off at the end of her story, allowing me to connect the dots. "You made her return to my thoughts. I know the pain of losing someone close to me."

"Oh," I responded and avoided looking at the emotional girl. Instead of compassion or empathy I just felt awkward. It was so like me, but I couldn't help it.

"I understand that it's hard for you to open your heart to me, and that's fine. I never expected you to," Ayame chuckled, waving of my reaction like it was nothing. "I just wanted you to know... That's all." I nodded in understanding.

"Is that the only reason you left?" I asked, finally making eye contact with the still pure angel. Her expression went from a faint smile to a slight shock. She broke the eye contact and washed off all the emotion I tried to read.

"Yes," she coldly spoke. "Did you need more?"

"Uh..." I was unsure of if I should be brave and ask her what I really wanted to.

"Actually, I was accepted into a university..." Ayame said, making me look at her in confusion once more. "It's an art focused facility. I know it sounds stupid for an angel like me, but... I want to live in this world. I want to chase a dream here, where I don't have any obligations," she explained with a bright pink color on her cheeks.

"Is that so?" I asked a bit amused. My amusement soon washed away as I was about to open my mouth again. "Um, Ayame-"

"You know who else got accepted into a university?" she interrupted me. I blinked a couple of times. She wouldn't have asked be that if she didn't know that I'd be interested. The silence between us encouraged her to carry on. "Gina-chan is going to leave this city as well," she said with a soft smile. _Huh?_

"S-she hasn't told me anything...!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, she told me there were so many other things going on that she forgot... She... also told me that she knows everything now. Weird, huh?" Ayame said in an amused tone.

"Uh, weird... Yeah," I replied, staring at the ground for a moment. Waves of freezing cold and burning hot seemed to wash over my chest and then it tightened enough to make it hard to breathe. I placed a hand on my chest, trying to take a few slow breaths. It was all happening so quickly.

"Hana-chan..." Ayame looked at me worriedly.

"I'll be fine," I assured the other girl, taking off the grip on my chest and smiling in an assuring manner. Ayame's eyes widened in shock at my calm reaction. "I... I won't be alone even if you'll leave me," I added in a soft tone that was hard to read. Ayame's open mouth slowly closed and she sighed through her nose.

"I never imagined you'd take the news this well," she said. "I'm glad." A smile had reappeared on her lips again, barely hidden by the blond and red strands of hair traveling over her face.

My mind had been taken off my main goal before, but it was all returning to me now. The things I really wanted to ask her. The things I was afraid to ask her.

"I think my bus is gonna be here soon... I should really head outside," Ayame spoke in a forced happy tone and suddenly jumped up from the couch, like she'd sensed the questions in my mind. She grabbed her suitcase and bag and was already taking steps away from me. "I guess I'll-"

"Ayame!" I exclaimed with a serious expression and got up from my seat as well, startling her. She wouldn't be getting away before she told me everything she knew.

"What are you yelling for, Hana-chan? You're bothering the other people at the station..." Ayame said in the same forced tone as before.

"Ayame-chan... No, Audiana. You need to tell me..." I clenched my hands into fists as I took a few steps closer to her. "Am I... Have I always been a demon?!" I yelled the question in frustration and fear that gleamed from my eyes.

A few people passing by looked very confused or annoyed about my yelling. Soon my eyes focused back to Ayame, who seemed to be in a small shock about my question. The silence between us wasn't promising anything good.

The fear inside me doubled when Ayame suddenly clenched her teeth and looked away from my eyes. Her lips became a seal over her teeth once more as she reluctantly laid her eyes on mine.

"Why would you ask such a thing?" she asked in an innocent tone, still sounding happy. That made me feel so angry. Was she really so desperate not to tell me the truth that she'd give me such an obvious lie?

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME!" I yelled, gaining everyone's attention in the hall. I didn't care, my eyes were solely fixated on the person in front of me. "I have the right to know...!" I added with the same anger, though my voice was softer now. Ayame eyed the floor for a moment before looking at me again.

"Fine, it's true," she replied with something less than a mumble.

Shock overcame my burning anger and left me staring at the blonde with my mouth wide open. I was blinking in confusion, guessing on how I should feel. I really had no idea where to start. There was a part of me that'd never thought it was possible, and it was hard to try and convince that part otherwise.

"You're... telling the truth right now..." I spoke, trying my best to convince myself. I stared at the floor, my body trembling because of all the different emotions going through my mind. I was left out of anymore words. I had to fill the silence somehow, so I had to force myself to speak. "Y-you knew this whole time... And never thought of telling me?" I asked in disbelief. Maybe it was all a cruel lie she told me in order to get me off her back.

"I was ordered not to tell you," Ayame spoke reluctantly and clung to the straps of her bag. "I never thought you'd find out with your memory gone..." _With my memory gone? _I was staring at her in full shock once more. My head was getting dizzy and I had to move one of my feet back in order to avoid falling.

"It really was... All a lie..." I spoke as my balance faultered once more. Ayame caught my arm before I could fall down and helped me on the couch next to my bag. She said something to calm down the people passing by, but I wasn't focusing on what exactly. _It's too hard to believe... Yet it's true. I, a demon, was made into an angel..._

"_You were, weren't you?" a familiar echo inside my head questioned._

_You're back? _I guessed it was the effect of a heat stroke or something. Things were getting crazier by the second.

"_You're ready," _the voice said with a mocking laugh. _Huh? _Suddenly a sharp pain struck my head and my mind started flashing with pictures faster than I ever thought was possible. People. Blood. Houses. Fire. Blood. Darkness. Moons. Stars. Blood. Blood. Blood. So much blood...

I was holding my head with two hands now in order to somewhat keep myself together. It took me some time to process everything I was seeing, so much blood and death that it would've made anyone crazy. Only after all of it was registered into my brain did I realize... They were memories. My lost memories.

I was left speechless and I was sure I was going to lose it any moment now. I was shaking again, though for a completely different reason from before. Suddenly, after a short shock, most of my memories had returned... I was guessing that it was only the most of them, since there seemed to be some holes between all the events. My brain couldn't handle it all at once, before.

My past self was very quickly mixing with my current one and that arose panic inside me. Qualities merged inside my mind as I remembered more and more about what happened to me before I became and angel. Also, a very specific memory passed by in the midst of it all.

* * *

_Then_

* * *

"Drenumi..." an echoing voice was brought to my sensitive ears. It was the first thing I heard in a state of euphoria.

Suddenly all kinds of new sensations were flooding through my body. The cold touch of stone under my body, the air softly brushing hair against my face, the sound of it hitting something soft... Like fabric.

I slowly opened my eyelids, an overwhelming amount of light attacking my vision. I covered my eyes with my arm in order to stop the light my eyes hadn't yet adjusted into.

"Drenumi," someone said the same word in a sharper tone that pained my ears. I moved the arm away from my face and squinted my eyes in order to see through all the light.

I looked around, my brain registering all kinds of new things. I noticed that beyond the cold hardness under me the air felt very warm and gladly embraced me.

I was in the middle of a group of marble pillars and people dressed in light shades. What was special about the people wasn't only the way they dressed, it was also that each one of them had a pair of white feathered wings sprouting from their backs.

There were words being exchanged through the small crowd around me in a beautiful language I couldn't understand. Every word sounded so graceful I felt submitting just listening to it being spoken.

One of the winged people closed in on me with a white cloth, offering me a hand so I could get up from the floor of the marble house. I blinked a couple of times before taking their hand, taking a quick look at my own pale one as well.

As soon as the person had helped me into a sitting position I noticed something about myself as well. I turned my head in order to see my back, some of my grass green curls setting over my dark eyes.

There were white wings sprouting out of my back as well.

The appendages felt very strange on my small body and even trying to move them was very clumsy. I couldn't understand how the people around me could possibly live with them in the way they were.

"Drenumi." The same word was repeated to me once more and it made me turn to the person that had offered their hand to me. I was unsure of their meaning, so I curiosly pointed a finger at myself. The person smiled and nodded, offering me the white cloth in their hands.

I stared at the fabric for a moment before excepting it and opening up the folded piece in my hands. It was an open back simple dress with short sleeves and a hem probably up to my anckles. I looked at the dress and then my wings in doubt.

I stumbled up into a standing position and turned the dress so that I could slip into it from below. It was surprisingly easy to put it on even with my wings. I slipped my arms into the sleeves and put the neck strap over my head.

The material felt soft against my skin, like silk, but the hem was a bit too long for me and landed on my feet.

"Come with me, Drenumi, Child of Strange Dreams," the person spoke with a warm smile, their language switched into a one that I understood. It felt like they were dirtying their mouth in order to speak it and it made me feel sick to the stomach. I looked at the person for a long time before giving them a small nod, allowing them to lead me out of the marble house.

* * *

_Now_

* * *

"Hana? Hana-chan? Hana-chan?" Ayame was repeating my name over and over while slightly shaking me. I finally snapped out of the stream of memories arriving into my head and looked at her with my eyes wide an my forehead sweaty.

"What just... happened?" I thought as I broke off the eye contact to look at the ground. _Those were all... my memories... _I gasped and leaned back in the sofa, forcing Ayame out of my personal space. _The last one... I'm sure it wasn't taken away from me, I had just... forgotten._

"Hana-chan? You just started holding your head all of a sudden and didn't respond to anything. Was it really such a big shock...?" Ayame questioned with a worried look plastered all over her face. She kneeled on the floor in order to look into my eyes from a better angle and I returned her look with wide eyes.

"I... remember..." I muttered in a barely audible voice and blinked a couple of times while staring at the blonde. She imitated my blinks as her eyes widened. Then she suddenly snapped back into reality and rose to her feet, taking a step back from me.

"Y-you remember? About being a demon? About everything?" she exclaimed in surprise and horror. I stared at her with an unreadable expression and slowly nodded. That left her speechless.

"H-how is that possible?! The spell they put on you should've wiped out your memory completely..." Ayame was falling into full panic.

"Miss, is everything alright over here?" an unrecognizeable voice questioned from Ayame. I snapped my head up to it's direction in surprise, somehow having forgotten that we were in a public place.

"Oh, I'm sorry... We're we being too loud?" Ayame spoke, suddenly having composed herself like she always did. She was talking to a female worker of the bus station.

"Please keep it down or I'll have to ask you to leave," the worker said in a serious manner.

"I'm very sorry, it won't happen again," Ayame said and bowed down to the older-looking female. The worker nodded before leaving the so-called scene of crime. Ayame looked after the woman before turning back to me, all the emotions she had just moments ago returning in one giant swoop.

"I don't exactly remember _everything_, to be honest... Small bits and pieces are missing, but I have the big picture..." I explained. "I remember who I was before becoming an angel."

"Y-you..." Ayame's eyes drifted to the ground and her posture slumped a bit. "I assume you don't need my protection anymore..." she muttered in a voice that was barely audible even to my demon hearing.

"Ayame... I need you to tell me why they made me an angel," I said to her softly, trying to figure it out myself without any proper results. Ayame raised her eyes from the floor to mine, a small wince showing in her essence. **"Audiana, please." **I switched back to the angelic language we used to speak in order to increase the effect of that simple sentence. That seemed to work since Ayame slowly sighed and clung onto the straps of her bag again.

"They... Wanted to turn you into a weapon for Heaven," Ayame simply said while avoiding our eyes meeting. I slowly processed the thought and then nodded in understanding. "Your turn to answer. How did you regain your memories?" Ayame asked in a sharp tone, startling me a bit.

"Uh... It seems that I unconciously stored it all at the back of my head before they could wipe it out," I responded in a calm manner and smiled bittersweetly. "...My turn," I began, making Ayame's eyes widen. I'd officially turned our conversation into a game of ask and tell. "Was everyone playing pretend around me?"

Ayame fell silent and stared at the ground in front of her feet once more. She sighed loudly before giving me a small nod in order to confirm my guesses.

"Ah, so that's why that spy wanted to give me to the Church so bad..." I said, my inner self in peace after putting one and one together. "Who would've known... I was actually something completely else than I first thought. I was more significant than I'd ever guessed..."

"And now you're even more than what you were," Ayame said, her eyes still firmly on the floor. "To imagine that you were once a weapon for the Great Demon King... To imagine that your small self was once a slaughterer for _him,_" she continued. "Do you... remember talking to him?" I shook my head as soon as the question was presented.

"I remember being called out multiple times. My soul materialized my body and I destroyed everything he told me to. I was one of _them_."

"You know, everyone was always a bit afraid of fighting against you... Well, the ones that knew about what you are – uh, were. Only a limited number of angels knew. They had been threatened and bribed not to tell anyone, too," Ayame explained in a depressing manner.

"I understand," I replied in a monotone. "It's understandable that they wanted nothing to do with the Bloody Sphere of Satan. I'm surprised they allowed me to become an angel." Ayame nodded.

The silence between us lasted for many long minutes with the both of us thinking about everything, processing everything that'd just happened. Everything had changed again.

"I... I need to get going. Are you going to be alright?" Ayame asked a bit unsurely as she checked that she had everything she needed.

"You still care about me, even with my memories returned? I'm a full blown demon, you know. And a horrifying one at that," I said with a sad chuckle.

"Please... Don't remind me. You're making it harder..." Ayame said as she turned her back to me. "I... I don't hate you. But please... Don't change anymore."

* * *

**[A/N]**

**Please tell me what you thought about this chapter via reviews! I love reading them a lot and they help me improve and connect with you guys reading my story.**

**We're almost at the end! KYA!**


	31. Chapter 29 - Roller coaster uphill

**[A/N] **

**So, I updated two chapter in two days... Interesting, huh? Apparently I missed writing this more than I'd first thought.**

**This chapter is short even though there were parts I could've extended it on... I don't know, I'm happy with how it turned out so I don't feel like it needs to be super long.**

**I hope you'll enjoy this chapter regardless of me!**

* * *

Chapter 29 – Roller coaster uphill

It had been a day since Ayame stepped on a bus and left Tokyo. I wasn't anymore alone than I had been, but somehow her missing precense was easier to notice now.

I was lieing on my back on my futon that was layed between the closet and the table. I hadn't moved a muscle since I returned home the previous day. I'd been just staring at the ceiling and thinking. Well, I was fairly sure that I'd fallen asleep at least few times.

I made and effort to roll on my side and slightly hugged the pillow against my cheek. I bent my knees and moved the top one a bit forward, so it wouldn't rest on top of the other one.

I had been processing everything I remembered the day before and also the new memories that had returned during the night. I'd been remembering more and more about my past life, the life I was born for.

It was difficult to even believe at first, but there was no doubt that those were my memories. I recognized every single one of them, though other's a bit weaker than some. Now my personalities were merging slowly together, all my past thoughts trying to find their place in my mind.

It was an odd process that left me with a horrible headache.

After laying there for who knows how many hours, the puzzle seemed to be getting clearer. It started feeling like the memories were never even lost.

That's when I finally got my mind out of my past self and started thinking about the times I spent in Heaven. I started thinking about my friends. Even though I had always been cold-hearted, for some reason thinking about them caused a pain in my chest and made it hard to breathe.

I wasn't questioning who I was anymore, my questions were of a completely different sort.

Was any of it real?

Did they mean their words?

Can I call those actual experiences?

After some more time had passed, I sighed loudly and forced my body to sit. My muscles were mostly asleep after staying in one place for such a long time and an unpleasant tingling sensation could be felt all around. I moved some of my body parts in order to make the blood circulate.

That's when I heard a knock from the door.

"Suzuno-san?" I questioned the person at my door and got up on my feet. "Just a moment..." I roamed towards the door only to have it opened just before I could grab the handle.

"...Hana-dono shouldn't leave the door unlocked for the night," Suzuno said, a bit surprised as well. She popped inside my house in one of her usual kimonos and a calm look on her face.

"Oh, yeah... I must've forgotten. How stupid of me," I chuckled awkwardly as I closed the door. "What time is it, by the way?" I asked a bit absent-mindedly.

"It is ten in the morning. I was wondering if you were up for breakfast," Suzuno inquired as she had already walked over to the kitchen in order to cook something.

"Aren't you... bothered?" I asked in slight shock. "To be around me, I mean."

"Because you're now a demon?" she replied while checking my cabinets for something to cook. "To be honest... At first I was bothered. Very bothered, to be exact. But... After meeting you in your demon form I realized that you were still the same person. I don't think of you as one of the other demons, even if you're allied with them."

"Oh, you spoke to Maou-san?" I asked a bit nervously. "But by that logic shouldn't you be treating Lucifer like a normal angel as well?" Suzuno shook her head in protest.

"No, I only met him after he became a demon – that's completely different," she insisted as she moved over to my fridge and looked inside. I dodged out of her way and sat down at the table.

"So that's how you think... I'm glad you're not agreeing with Emi. It would be difficult to have you both as enemies," I said in a relaxed manner.

"Please don't misunderstand. We are still enemies, it's just that you're an enemy that I do not hate," she snapped, stopping what she was doing. My eyes widened for half a second as I studied her expression.

"Well, it's too bad then..." I gave a nervous laugh and leaned my elbows against the table. Suzuno regained her calm stance and returned back to what she was doing. "...Hey, Suzuno." I needed her attention for a bit more. "I need to talk to everyone."

"Why is that?" she asked with her back turned to me.

"I have some things I need to tell them," I bluntly replied as I slowly pulled my laptop closer.

"Is that so..." Suzuno replied in a half-mutter. I opened up my computer and clicked on a web browser in order to check my social media. _It's been a while since I did this... _"Hana-dono." Suzuno's voice interrupted my browsing.

"Hm?"

"I didn't want to say anything, but everyone's been worrying over you..." Suzuno said and twirled around in order to look me in the eye. "They were worried that Ayame-dono leaving would cause you to feel depressed..."

"Oh, I'm sorry for making you worry... Did they send you over here to check on me?" I asked in a straightforward manner.

"No, I came by my own choice. I wasn't expecting you to be so... stable," Suzuno said, picking her words carefully. "May I ask what happened between you two?"

"Ah, we exchanged goodbyes..." My mind went back to the unfortunate event for a moment.

"I... see..." Suzuno replied, obviously not buying it. She went back to her cooking with no more questions, though. She seemed to be avoiding putting too much pressure on me.

* * *

After having breakfast with Suzuno we had gone over to Maou's apartment. Everyone was there: The three inhabitants of the household as well as Emilia and Chiho. They were gathered around the table, except for Lucifer, who was on his computer. He still seemed to take part in the conversation, though.

I was greeted with comforting smiles and the spotlight I wasn't too fond of. I'd somewhat gotten used to it by now, but it was still unpleasant. A sigh escaped my lips as I formed short eye contact with Suzuno, messaging her to sit down. She understood my look and nodded before joining the others at the table.

Everyone kept staring at me with wide eyes while I stood there, looking through their faces.

"I-I have some things that I want to talk to you about..." I said while shifting my weight onto my other leg.

"It must be important if you're willingly putting yourself on the spot," Chiho commented from the end of the table. My usual shyness was showing through the character I'd formed during the past few days.

"Ah... Chiho-chan, I'm sorry, but it'd be better if you didn't hear any of this..." I said to her with my expression as serious as I could manage.

"E-eh?" She made a confused sound.

"That means it must be something involving Ente Isla... Please spit it out if it's important," Emilia said while crossing her arms. She seemed surprisingly calm considering her choice of words.

"There's no need to kick me out...!" Chiho protested.

"I'm sorry, I can come back later if that's the case..." I said, eyeing the tatami mat beneath my feet.

"That's not what I meant. You can rely on me more!" the redhead added in a pleading tone.

"Chi-chan, I'm sorry... The less you know about Ente Isla the better. You must understand that with your lack for a way to protect yourself you're an easy target," Maou said while forming eye contact with the younger girl.

"But-" Chiho began, cutting herself off. "No, you're right... I think I have something to do anyway..." she spoke in a more light tone. "Sorry about my outburst." She got up from her seat and bowed in support for her words.

"No, it's fine..." Maou assured. "I'm sorry if I seem rude."

"No, Maou-san...! It's fine, really," Chiho in turn assured as she went to collect her shoes. "I'll see you at work."

"Yeah," Maou replied. Soon after that Chiho was gone and I was free to talk.

"What is it that you were so urgent to talk to us about?" Ashiya questioned in growing curiosity.

"W-well... During the last few days a series of strange things have occurred and... Well, I found the explanation for them," I began. That caused Lucifer to raise a brow.

"Wait, so... Was I right?" he asked in a surprised manner. I smiled at him before turning to the rest of the group.

I took a deep breath before extending my hand out, to everyone's confusion.

"I don't really have energy for a presentation like this, but..." I squeezed my hand into a fist and felt my power drain as lime green markings appeared around my neck and chest. My black wings also appeared. Small shock waves we're emitted from the marking, making my hair move like in a soft breeze.

I opened the fist my left hand was in and neared it to my chest. After that something slowly grew out of my chest until it was so long I could grab it. I forcefully pulled the rest of the sleak item out with a pained gasp and held it in my hand.

The markings on me stopped glowing and my wings disappeared. The draining of my powers seemed to be mostly over for the time being. The action left me panting and holding a dark green, nearly black sphere with a detailed, sleak design and three blades: One on each end and an extra one closer to the middle.

"...That's...!" after a short silence that had taken over the room something seemed to spark surprise in Lucifer. Everyone turned to look at him for a moment. It seemed like he knew exactly what I was holding.

"This is a weapon created to kill humans... A weapon that's creator no one knows. It's called the Bloody Sphere of Satan or the Demon King's Poison." My words made everyone turn to look at Maou.

"I have nothing to do with this...!" Maou insisted in shock.

"No, I'm afraid I'm talking about a different Satan," I said with a small smile.

"I remember fighting you with that sphere the last time we were brawling... I knew something was wrong, so I ended up pressuring Lucifer for the answer," Emi explained.

"...Where did you get that?" Lucifer asked, still surprised about seeing the sphere. I looked at him with an innocent expression.

"Well, you see..." I began, waving the sphere around in a controlled, sharp movement. "This thing used to contain my soul. Yesterday it was revealed to me that I had been living a very different life from the one I spent in Heaven. A life of a demon who had been merged with a weapon for destruction."

"Wait, so, merged in the same way I'm merged with Better Half?" Emi asked in surprise.

"Not in the exact same way at least. My merging was done with dark magic, while yours with celestial, for starters. Also, while now the sphere is the one merged with my body, it used to be the opposite," I explained.

"So... Your body would materialize whenever the sphere was in use, correct?" Suzuno inquired. I nodded.

"That's how it was. Another thing about it was that I was merged with the weapon from the beginning – no, technically I was born from this sphere. I've always been a part of it," I said. "At some point the sphere was found by Heaven, however, and they must've messed up the host and the occupant system."

"Why would they make you into an angel...? Heaven is strictly against demons, right?" Maou inquired, looking at me and Lucifer in turns. "A human strictly devoted to God could maybe achieve the angel status, but to make one out of a demon of all beings..."

"I don't know what they were thinking, but I know that she must've been very useful for them for some reason," Lucifer admitted.

"You were there during that time! You should know about those kinds of things!" I complained to him.

"Well I can't know everything, now can I?" he whined back.

"One great archangel they had, not even knowing about such a taboo of a demon being turned into one of you..." Emi insulted from the table. Lucifer grew visibly annoyed during the remark.

"...So Wakahisa-san, you've actually been a powerful demon all this time?" Ashiya said, cutting the argument in short even if I was guessing he agreed with Emilia. _I_ was almost agreeing with Emilia and my opinions were biased.

"Eh, I don't think that at my current level of lack skill and training I'd be able to take on any of you big league players even at full power... You should've fought me before I became an angel, though," I half-muttered the last part.

"Hm... I have to admit I'm surprised by this," Maou commented as he crossed his arms in thought. He was wearing an expression implying that he was thinking.

"Seriously, Maou-san... You're reactions are starting to make me bored," I said with a frustrated but yet amused attitude.

"You'd prefer me getting angry...?" he asked a bit worriedly.

"No, that's not how I meant it..." I chuckled as I merged the sphere in my hand with my body once more.

"Will you two just stop flirting?" Lucifer commented with the annoyed attitude he'd no doubt gotten from Emilia's remark.

"What, _now_ you're getting jealous?" I asked in a playful manner and sat down at his computer table, leaning slightly closer to the purple-haired demon.

"Uh..."

"I think the 'no flirting' part applies to you two more than her and Maou. I thought we were discussing this seriously," Emilia complained.

"We are, I was just-" A beep of my phone moved my focus to it. "Sorry about that."

"You should check the message. We have time," Maou said after looking at his subordinates.

"Well I certainly don't. I have work later today," Emilia countered.

"It's okay, I can check it later! Anyway..."

And that's how the next hour passed by. We discussed about why the Church had captured me, why I had gone crazy, what I did in the past... It was something I'd held in from them for some time and it felt like a load off my chest to explain it all.

After the conversation was done, I was sure that at least some of their opinions about me had changed – I wasn't sure if it was for good or bad, but there was a change for sure.

After some time Emilia had to go to work and Suzuno also returned to her own apartment. I didn't want to be rude so I left as well, though Maou reminded me that I should start work again as soon as I could before I could leave. I felt thankful for him for covering me while my life was still a huge mess. I almost started calling him Maou-_sama _instead of the more colloquial way _san_.

I stopped right at my door after closing it after me. I had suddenly remembered the message I'd received during the discussion with the others and I checked it out immediately. It could've been something important, after all.

_**Gina Matsuoka**_

**Sorry. Just, sorry. I haven't been able to handle anything calmly during these past few days... It's really been a roller coaster.**

**I just wanted to tell you that I'm not mad at you and that I still want to be friends with you. Ayame-chan told me you know about me going to a university... I'm really excited about that. I still haven't forgotten about you though.**

**Wanna talk more? I know I do.**

I read the message with a neutral expression and really thought about what she said. It made me smile. It made me smile that she was the one I hadn't lost.

I was shocked out of my thoughts when the door behind me was suddenly opened, startling me and making me turn away hurriedly.

"...Did I scare you?" Lucifer asked from the door frame. I sighed in embarrasment.

"I was reading a text," I replied and put away my phone. "What's up?" I asked with a small smile, since I was happy about seeing him again.

"Who was it?" Urushihara inquired, referring to the text.

"It was Gina. She said she still wants to be friends with me," I replied.

"Uh, great... Can you let me in or...?" he asked when I hadn't moved from the door. I realized I hadn't and stepped away in order to let him in. "Thanks," he said with slight sarcasm as he pushed the door closed after him.

"...Like I asked, what brings you here?" I said as I made my way farther inside the apartment after him.

"I can't just come to hang around?" he asked in a way I could see through immediately.

"You would've brought your computer."

"True," he replied. I assumed he wasn't even trying to hide he was coming up with excuses before. "I just wanted to talk to you about what you told everyone." He stopped and turned around so he was now facing me.

"Really? It's usually me who wants to talk to you, right? What's changed?" I chuckled.

"That has," Lucifer said while looking me in the eye. I blinked in confusion. "I mean, the way you handle things, the way you react to them – it's completely different. I assume your likes and dislikes and such still hold, but... You were just telling things about yourself to people you haven't known for that long. Well, ones besides me I mean."

"Oh, that..." I replied in realization. "That's what you wanted to talk to me about?" I placed both of my hands behind my back and leaned a bit closer to the male. "For your information, this is me being in peace with myself."

"So... it's just another side of you?" he asked in surprise. "You're not a completely different person after getting your memories back?"

"I thought you weren't worried about that! But no, I am _not_ a different person. It's just... I have more tolerance for things now, I suppose. After seeing all the things I have there's very little that could shock me anymore," I explained. "In other words, I don't think horror movies will have the same effect on me anymore."

"But there's something," Lucifer replied. "There's always something, no matter how much you see." He seemed to know what he was talking about, so I didn't want to go deeper into a matter he most likely didn't want to talk about.

"Your attitude towards me is so weird right now... Are you unhappy about the fact that I act differently now?" I asked with some unsureness creeping up at me.

"It's not that... It'd be boring if nothing ever changed, after all. I guess I was just surprised..." Lucifer spoke a bit awkwardly. "I guess I was just afraid of what exactly changed about you.." he said with his cheeks turning red.

"Idiot!" I yelled playfully as I knocked him down to the ground.

"What was that for?!" he exclaimed in suprise, causing me to laugh.

"The part of me that likes you could never change," I replied as I got down to the tatamis as well.

My life truly was a roller coaster. Though for now, I felt like the harshest curves were finally coming to an end.

* * *

**[A/N]**

**The next chapter is further going to tie down some loose ends (tell me if I've forgotten about something, that happens). The chapter after that... Well, you'll see.**

**I would be super thankful if you reviewed this chapter! Really!**


	32. Chapter 30 - Just a demon girl

**[A/N]**

**Only one more after this... :3 Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, I changed the prologue for the story btw.**

**LifeOfTheLost:****Your words make me humble! *bows down* I'm happy that I was able to surprise you. I'm also happy that you enjoy this pairing! I hope the ending will be to your liking. ^^**

* * *

Chapter 30 – Just a demon girl

"You don't know that spell?" Lucifer asked in surprise in the middle of our conversation.

"No, I don't," I said while shaking my head in order to establish my point better. "I only know spells that can be useful in a fighting situation or a sneak attack... And those are few as well, since my tactics were often very straightforward."

We'd been sitting on each end of the table in my apartment, eating chips and going through websites on our computers. It came to that because of Ashiya vacuuming their apartment and waking Lucifer up earlier than usual.

At some point our conversation topic had changed into the magic use of demons. I remembered having been curious about it before my memories returned, so it was only natural to have mentioned it. What took me by surprise was the fact how much more spells there were that I had never even known about.

"To think you don't even know such a simple thing as making barriers..." Lucifer sighed as he placed a hand on his forehead. "But then again, I suppose it's understandable." After saying that he took a potato chip from the bag laid on the table.

"Then why do you sound so judging?" I smirked, trying to hide the annoyment underneeth that expression. "Besides, I wouldn't exactly call making barriers a "simple thing"... And if it truly bothers you that much, why don't you teach me spells I need to know."

"But that's such a bother..." the lazy angel said as he leaned an elbow against the table. "Besides, it would be difficult with such a small amount of magic at hand."

"I agree on the last part, but that doesn't make it any less necessary, right?" I argued.

"I haven't fought you, I wouldn't know if it's necessary," he said while waving his hand at me. I sighed and took a chip to chew as well.

"You should fight me some day," I suggested in a half-mutter. Lucifer looked up at me from his computer screen with curious eyes.

"You mean like a sparring match?" he asked and locked eyes with me once I looked up from my screen as well.

"What else would I mean?" I asked a bit annoyed at his question.

"I don't know, I was just asking..." he said in a tired manner. "So... You mean to come to Ente Isla once we're done here...?" he continued, making an effort to sound casual.

"Yes. I'll be your waifu or whatever if you want me to," I said while rolling my eyes.

"Wha-! That's not at all what I meant...!" he exclaimed in embarrasment.

"Face it – it's exactly what you meant," I said while leaning closer to him with a devious smirk. The amusing moment was broken by the sound of my phone. "Ahh, hold on to that thought..."

I got up from my seat and walked over to the kitchen, where my phone was currently at on the counter. I picked it up and answered the incoming call.

"It's Hana-chan's Relationship Advice Line," I happily replied to the person. "What is your emergency?"

"_Stop it, Hana-chan... I didn't really miss this creepy side of you," _Gina's horrified voice replied.

"Ahahaha... Sorry. I'm just in a happy mood I guess," I said. I received a short look from Lucifer before he went back to his web surfing.

"_It's good to hear,_" Gina said in a more bright tone this time. _"I just wanted to ask where you wanted to meet after work again. I don't think you gave me a place."_

"Oh, that..." I realized as I quickly took a look at the ceiling while trying to remember the name of the place. "Uhh... You know that one cafe at the mall?"

"_Um... The one with the dragon statue?"_

"No... What? Which mall did you go to? I meant the one where we went with Suzuno-san and the rest... The... The one with the green lamps," I explained.

"_Oh, yeah! That one! I know where it is," _Gina said cheerily as soon as she figured it out.

"That's the one," I said in a giggly manner. "Sorry to confuse you."

"_No, it's fine, I-"_

"_Gina, we need to go now!" _a voice from the backround interrupted.

"_Sorry, that was my mom. My practise is starting... I have to go now. See you at the cafe later, Hana-chan," _Gina said.

"That's right. Bye," I said as I ended the call and placed the phone back on the counter.

Me and Gina had our differences before, but we'd been friends again since the previous day.

* * *

_The day before_

* * *

After a few times of ringing the doorbell Gina's mother had finally come to the door to greet me. She asked about what happened between me and her daughter once or twice, but I managed to avoid the question both times. After a short conversation between us I finally managed to slip past her and into Gina's room.

She looked at me in shock when I suddenly appeared at his door with an expressionless face. We stared at each other for a moment before I entered and closed the door behind me.

She was sitting on her bed with a laptop on her lap and her back leaning against the headboard. It felt awkward that neither of us had yet to say anything.

"I accept your apology," I said after a short while and bowed down. Gina blinked a few times before a small smile spread on her lips. "I'm also sorry about what I said... and didn't say."

"There's no need to apologise, really...! I understand now why I couldn't know..." Gina said while putting away the computer on her lap. "I'm glad you seem better than when we last met," she said, changing the topic a bit.

"I feel better," I said to confirm her supposition. I circled around the bed and sat next to her legs that'd been layn over the length of the bed. "Um... Can I ask you about Maou-san?" I said, going straight to the point since I felt like the atmosphere would allow her to talk.

"Oh... Did you... Overhear us?" she asked in surprise and embarrasment. I gave a small nod after a moment of consideration. "That is so embarrassing..."

"I don't think so..." I said in an awkward tone, making it an obvious lie. Gina looked at me in distress before burying her face into a pillow.

"Ah! I feel so humiliated... Not just the fact that I was rejected, it just... I thought that if I really tried, it would be easy..." Gina said, carefully looking at me behind the pillow. I smiled at her.

"There are some people whose type you're not, I guess," I laughed. That only made her more flustered.

"I suppose you're right..." she said while staring at the pillow. "It was so weird noticing that he didn't care about me more than anyone else, no matter what I did. Though, that's not the reason he said he left me... I think he was lying."

"Huh? You think so?" I asked in surprise.

"Mm-hmm. I think he likes Chiho-chan over me, that is," the blue-haired girl confessed.

"Isn't that just jealousy talking?" I inquired.

"Could be... Though I mean to get over that guy. I know there's no point in going after him," Gina spoke with a wistful chuckle.

"Don't worry, you'll find someone else... No doubt," I replied in slight jealousy even.

"No need to sound to bitter, you have a boyfriend for God's sake! And he's an angel... Well, you're an angel...! Which is really, really cool..." Gina stumbled. That made me laugh out loud.

"Hahaha... I'm sorry, it just sounds so funny when said out loud in this world..." I said while trying to control my laughter.

"It really does, doesn't it?" Gina confirmed. "I can't help but feel jealous about such an amazing thing."

"Well... If you were like me, it would be normal for you. You wouldn't realize to be amazed, so..." I said.

"Oh, shut up!" Gina said with a chuckle and threw the pillow at me. We laughed for a moment before it became all quiet again.

"...Gina-chan, I wish I could repay you for everything," I suddenly said.

"Huh? Like what?" she laughed.

"Everything. The way you helped me and Ayame we first arrived, how you always laughed off our oddness. Also, how you stood by me after every failed working attempt and how you helped me at school, no matter how stupid I seemed," I said, hopping into a standing position after saying all that. "I'm in debt for you," I said while bowing down to her again.

"...Then I definitely won't allow you to repay me," she replied and stood up as well. I raised my head in order to see her expression, surprise painted all over my own features.

"Gina-chan...?" I asked in confusion.

"As long as you're in debt for me, you definitely won't leave me, right?" she asked with a faint smile on her lips. I stared at her in shock before standing up straight. After a while my shock turned into a smile, though I couldn't give her an answer. "Right?" he asked with her eyes glazed like she was about to cry.

The silence continued for a while before she wrapped her arms around my torso and pulled me into a hug. I was surprised at first, but gave in to the hug and placed my hands softly on her back.

Soon the moment was over and we parted. It didn't feel like any more words were needed, so I simply smiled before turning around and heading for the door. It was only a few steps before I'd reach for the handle when my ears accidentally picked up something they weren't supposed to.

"And it's not like I helped you out of sheer selfishness..." Gina said in a faint voice that'd be read as more like a whisper rather than anything. That made me stop at the door and turn to look at her once more.

"Gina-chan?" I asked in doubt.

"Hm? Oh, nothing!" the girl said in an overly cheery manner. "We can talk more later." I nodded in agreement.

"Do you want to see me tomorrow after work?" I suggested.

"That sounds nice," she replied with a nod. I responded to her smile before turning for the door and finally leaving the room.

* * *

_Now_

* * *

I had just come back to work and greeted all the employees with awkward hellos and a wide smile spread across my face. It was a nice change to be at work again – I'd had barely any time to spend there before all the chaos that happened.

Luckily Maou had come up with a cover story of me having larygitis and not being able to speak at all. I would've been in big trouble without him.

The manager Kisaki was a bit doubtful about my explanation, but promised to let it go this time. It seemed that she understood I didn't stay out of work just because I felt like it, especially with me having been such a new worker. She seemed to be very observant when it came to these things.

I saw Sariel near or inside the store a few times, but we usually didn't exchange any words. I didn't feel like talking to him after all the lies he'd sprouted. I also didn't need him to explain anything to anymore. It was better to act like nothing ever happened.

The day went by fast and afterwards I felt like crashing into bed straight away – I'd promised to meet Gina before that, though, and I wasn't planning on backing off on our agreement. I left MgRonald's and was about to head over to the mall before spotting something peculiar.

_Is that... Yusa-san? _I asked myself when I spotted a familiar figure inside the library across the street from MgRonald's. _It... It sure seems like her. Is she stalking Maou from there? Or me? _I thought as I stepped closer to the place to properly see her. Her face was hidden behind a book, but her long, fuchsia hair gave her away.

When the supposed Hero finally moved the book off her face I managed to take a quick look at her features. It indeed was her, and I could feel the feeling of "of course" run through me. I ignored the eye contact we shared for the shortest moment before going back to what I was doing.

_Nothing truly has changed... But then again, everything has. _A smile crept up on my face as I walked through the busy streets of Tokyo. _That makes me glad._

* * *

**[A/N]**

**This became fairly short because I removed something and decided to save it for the last chapter (it still most likely would've been short, though...) I just felt like it'd work better that way... Please tell me what you think by reviewing this chapter. ^^ I would appreciate it.**


	33. Chapter 31 - All things come to an end

**[A/N]**

**It's the final chapter... It's so weird. For the last time, I hope you enjoy this chapter. ^^**

* * *

Chapter 31 – All things come to an end

"You're speaking the truth right now?" Lucifer said in surprise, his voice echoing through the all too familiar walls of the infamous building Villa Rosa Sasazuka.

Lucifer – or Urushihara, as he was called in this world – was sitting down before his computer, turned around with a surprised look on his face. That made the person he had exclaimed the previous sentence to smile and nod her head.

"Yes, you heard me right," the busty girl – also known as Chiho Sasaki – replied in a cheery tone that melted me time and time again. She nodded her head in addition to her reply and her peach coloured hair moved softly along the movement.

"That, that's great news... Right, Urushihara?" Maou, the Demon Lord Satan in our world, said to one of his past generals in awe. He was currently sitting next to Chiho around the table of the one room apartment.

"This means that he can finally join the household finances and work," Ashiya, or Alciel, the top tactician of Maou, added. He folded his arms with a pleased look on his face and I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

"But why in the name of Ente Isla would they let a criminal like him roam the streets freely?!" the previous Hero of Ente Isla, now Emi Yusa, exclaimed in bewilderment. "It doesn't make any sense that they'd stop looking for him!"

"It truly does sound a bit shady. How did you gain this information, Chiho-dono?" a small-built girl with greyish blue eyes and dark hair wearing a kimono asked. She was known as Suzuno Kamazuki or Crestia Bell, an inquisitor from Ente Isla.

"Well, I returned home from work the other day and, by accident, heard my father talking to someone on the phone..." Chiho's father was the local police chief, so Chiho sometimes had insight on matters concerning the criminals of this city. Of course not intentionally gained, since no responsible parent would talk to their child about secret police matters. "He said to them, that they'd have to stop looking for the convenience store robbers from Tokyo. Apparently there was some information that lead them to believe that Urushihara-san and Olba-san had escaped into a different part of the country."

"Is that so..." I pondered out loud as I looked at Lucifer from to corner of my eye. I, of course, was called Drenumi – a runaway angel that was revealed to be a demon – or Hana Wakahisa – an ordinary citizen of Japan. And there I was, sitting among the people I once thought I'd never meet. Smiling, talking and eating together like friends would.

"You have something to do with this, don't you, NEET scum?!" Emi yelled in anger as she smashed a hand against the small table, making everyone jump backwards a little. Especially Lucifer seemed spooked.

"N-no way! I don't think Maou would've let me off with trying to hack into the police network..." Lucifer stuttered as he looked for support from his superior.

"You just wish to protect your NEET lifestyle! Don't you dare bring the respectful Maou-sama into this," Ashiya demanded in a blunt manner.

"M-must you be so mean to him?" I said in a small voice, trying to avoid too much conflict with everyone there.

"Hana-dono, it is understandable that you feel like you should stand up for Hanzo-dono, but I feel like you should step back from this argument," Suzuno suggested peacefully.

"Uh... Perhaps you're right..." I said as I took a quick look at the the heated argument that had become of the short exchange of exclaims. The Hero and the two demon generals were already at each others' throats. Maou sighed before trying to break off the fight, only to make the Hero more aggravated and materialize her Holy sword.

After that it became a straight out battle.

* * *

Hours passed one after another until all three girls besides myself left _Castle Overlord_, as it was called by Maou and Ashiya. I remained there longer than the rest for several reasons, but the ones anyone could put together were, one: I was dating Lucifer, two: I was allied with the three demons.

The latter was the reason why I stayed behind this time.

"Geez, Emi really knows how to make a mess around here..." Maou sighed in frustration as he helped Ashiya to clean up the dishes and manga that Emi had knocked all over the place with Better Half.

"She should learn some manners, especially since she only comes here for free food," Ashiya replied in agreement. I kneeled down to pick up one of the plates near me and handed it to the tall blond. "Thank you, Wakahisa-san." I really felt small right next to him.

"It's the least I can do..." _Really, it's the _least_ I can do. _I smiled at the male before turning to Maou, who was piling the manga books again. "Can I talk to you about something, Maou-san...?"

"Hmm?" he made a surprised sound. "Did you stay so you could ask me this _something_?" he asked in curiosity as he placed down the manga and turned fully towards me.

"It is," I said and nodded at the male. Now I had gained the attention of the two other demons as well. I crossed my arms behind my back and smiled.

"Please tell me what it is, then," Maou said and crossed his arms, waiting for me to speak. I took a deep breath before talking.

"I wish to join your demon army... For good this time," I said, a serious expression on my features. Maou blinked in surprise. "I know we made such an arrangement before, but this time it's different. I've thought about things more, and... I want to become one of your _generals_." The three males all looked surprised now.

"You want to be a general of mine...?" Maou asked in disbelief. I nodded with a wide smile, the seriousness softening away.

"I'm sorry if my wish comes as a surprise... It's just that, during the duration of my life, I've never really had... a _goal_ of any sort. I was always just used and manipulated..." I said while eyeing the floor, a small smile still on my lips. "Not that I minded that. It's just that, since I've been weakened since becoming an angel, I've felt like life has been harder for me. And that's exactly what I'd like it to be."

I studied the expression of the other demons. They all looked like they were still processing what I was asking of Maou.

"Ah, it's... What I mean is, I want to become _stronger_ again. I want to work towards something so that my life doesn't go to waste completely. I've learned so many new things I never knew existed and I'd like to learn even more. I'd like to learn to become strong enough to be a part of your army – strong enough to help you achieve your goal," I explained with a small spark setting in my eyes.

My monologue was finished and I had nothing to do but to wait for the Demon Lord's response. All of their expressions had softened during my speech. Ashiya and Lucifer slowly turned to look at Maou, waiting for his reaction.

It was a reaction that I wasn't expecting.

I flinched as Maou suddenly started to laugh out loud. When he stopped, a smirk was still plastered on his face and he looked straight into my eyes. That made me flinch again, since I became a little uncomfortable during serious topics like this one.

"I'm okay with it. I'd love to have someone as determined as you as one of my generals," Maou said in an amused voice, making me eyebrows raise. The other two generals looked very surprised.

"M-maou-sama, are you sure about your decision?" Ashiya asked his master, looking at me in sudden doubt.

"I'm sure. She's a model example of what I want my generals to be. I don't mind if they're not the strongest – though some strenght is naturally a requirement – but driven. If the person's motives are strong enough, they will do anything in order to help me in my guest," Maou explained. He locked eyes with me again. "So, from now on, as long as you want to, you shall be one of my generals."

That had left me in a complete shock. I stared at him with wide eyes, not realizing to respond properly.

"R-really...?" I asked with nothing more than a stutter.

"Really," Maou said, smiling warmly. "Actually... You told me that I treated you nicely all the time once, correct? You see... I sort of saw this coming at some point. When I looked at you, I knew you were looking for something to drive you forward. And I guessed that at some point you would turn to me for it," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck in a modest way.

That no doubt made the two other generals reflect on themselves and the first moment they met Maou. Man, I knew he was observant... But to realize to look so far into the future. This was the reason he was known as the great Demon Lord Satan all over Ente Isla – this was why he managed to build an army like that at such a young age.

I truly admired him.

"I... I will serve you well," I said with a smile, bowing down in front of the raven haired shift manager of Hatagaya MgRonald's. "...Maou-sama."

"Oh, Emilia is going to kill you... Literally," Lucifer said in a warning tone.

* * *

More than a month passed with me managing to survive the Hero's rage. Every day my life looked more positive and every day I learnt something new. Every day, well, _almost_ every day was something I was excited for.

My life that had been misery and pain and loneliness, had been completely turned around. I never could have such a thing alone, but the only one who could make the change was myself.

Once in my life I knew of nothing but murder and following orders. Once in my life I lived for nothing but the use of another person with no other choice. Once in my life, I was a tool.

When my slavery came to and end, I became something pure and beautiful, but I never felt like it was me inside that white shell. Somewhere inside my mind I knew it wasn't right, that all the pieces didn't fit together. That I deserved none of it.

I was alone, I was afraid. I didn't feel like my life was mine and, with everything being so new, I didn't know what to do. Then, one time, I took a chance.

I took a chance and a step into something new. That caused me grave pain and horrible consequences, but in time I understood that all that sacrifice was necessary. It will forever pain my heart that it happened, but it needed to happen in order for me to make a change, in order for me to evolve. Years will pass and pain will fade, but now I knew that there was more than what I had before somewhere.

I had hope.

After taking a chance, after finding something I wanted to hold on and to thrive for, I found things about myself I never knew. And by knowing myself, I learnt to understand the world around me. By understanding the world, I truly felt like I could do anything I wanted to.

I was free to chase after whatever I wanted to and now I also new myself enough to know what I needed. And _who_ I needed...

"Drea," Lucifer called at me from the hallway. My eyes quickly moved from the screen of my phone to the fallen archangel of Heaven and a smile spread across my lips.

"I'm sorry, I'll be right out," I said as I turned back to my phone for a moment. I finished the message I was writing before turning to Lucifer again.

_**You**_

**I don't have time today, Gina-chan, but we can play together next weekend – right? TTYL.**

I ran into the hallway, almost forgetting my bag before exiting the apartment. My lime green winter coat swished and rustled with my movements.

* * *

"Where exactly are we going...?" I asked in confusion as Lucifer had lead me to the bus station. He only smiled at me in a way I couldn't understand. He was definitely planning _something_.

"Just wait until the bus arrives... You'll know once we get there," he said in a monotone, though a smile was still apparent on his lips. I hugged my arms around myself to keep the cold away. My breathing made small clouds of vapored water appear that made me wonder how cold it was, exactly.

Everything was covered in sparkling snow.

* * *

I wasn't exactly sure how long the bus ride was, but it had to be a lot of time, since it took us outside the city. Not only that, it took us all the way to the nearest country side. I couldn't stop staring at the snow covered fields and forests. I'd only seen so many winters, and every time their beauty managed to take my breath away.

"We're here," Lucifer suddenly said as he pushed the stop button near our seats and the bus driver pulled over to the bus stop close by.

"Eh? In the middle of nowhere is our stop? How are we gonna get back?" I asked in surprise.

"Stop with your questions and get out of the bus, you're ruining the fun," Lucifer simply said and exited the bus. I look after him with a confused expression and blinked. I stepped out after him and the bus drove off.

"You didn't even let me buy my own ticket so I'd have no idea we'd come here," I complained. "What are you planning?"

"Really? I decide to do something for _you_ and this is how you react...?" he asked in faked disappointment.

"Can you blame me...?" I asked as I stared him down. He didn't seem to flinch too much, just sighed.

"Follow me," he suddenly said as he jumped down from the road and onto the field.

"Look out, you're gonna-!" I began, but stopped my exclaim when he landed softly on the snow and without leaving a mark on it. "...sink..." I finished. "Y-you have magic?" I asked in slight shock.

"I managed to gather some during the last month... Not too much, since I can't really cause problems to people, but I tried to find areas around Tokyo that had some sort of tragedy going on," Lucifer explained. I blinked.

"This is how you're using it?" I asked, pointing toward his feet. He looked down on the snow as well.

"Yeah," he bluntly replied. "Jump down," he ordered. I looked at him in thought before jumping after him, half-expecting to sink into the snow. It carried me without a mark like it carried him, however.

"This is a really cool spell..." I said in awe as I tried to jump on the snow in order to try and break the tension underneath my feet.

"It's just a simple trick to make traveling during winter easier... Though I flied most of the time no matter of the season," he explained and started walking farther into the field. I followed him with a few rushed steps at first.

"Ah, flying... I miss it a lot. I feel like I could beat you if we were to race again," I said in a challenging tone. That made a smile flash on Lucifer's lips, but I didn't have time to wonder what it meant. In a matter of seconds he had stopped himself and me, putting a hand on my cheek and placing his lips on mine.

Suddenly, for a short moment, all the coldness of the winter was gone and replaced by the heat of his lips and my burning cheeks. I kissed him back with my eyes gently closed, the surprise soon wearing off. I'd gotten used to stunts like that during this time.

Soon he pulled away from the kiss and left me staring at him in curiosity. And then all the questions on the top of my mind were answered.

I watched in surprise as two black wings sprouted from his back and his full wingspan spread to his sides. I took a step back because of the sudden act and simply looked at him.

"Wait... You brought me here in order to... Take me flying?" I asked as soon as it all clicked.

"Yep. I knew that there were places like these, where we wouldn't have to worry about people seeing us. And... I know you used to love flying," he explained with a blush slowly appearing on his face as well. _He... actually _did_ do something for my sake_.

"Really, you never needed to do anything like this..." I said, but I couldn't help the smile that spread on my lips.

"It's not like I didn't miss spreading my wings as well," he suddenly said in embarrasment. He took a step closer to me, locking our eyes for just a moment. "...Take off your glove." I blinked a few times before I realized to do what he asked of me, taking off the white mitten. He took his black glove off as well and then gently grabbed my hand.

It didn't take me long to realize that magic was transferred into my body. I gasped when the familiar feeling slowly took over me. When I felt like I had enough to fly, I pulled my hand away and put my mitten back on.

"...Thank you," I said with a smile, though my eyes were on the snow below my feet rather than the person I was talking to.

"Ahh... N-no need to say that..." he said in embarrasment as he took a step back. "I-I mean, uh... I'll race you to the other side of that forest," he said as pointed to the other side of the field, where one of the snow covered forests began. And, just like that, he was off. It took me some time to process he had moved from where he previously was.

"...Hey! That's cheating!" I exclaimed as my wings materialized as well, this time without forgetting to use my magic to split two holes at the back of my jacket. My angered expression was soon replaced by a small smile as I headed off onto the sky and after my rival.

After the person that was most important to me.

And so, just for that day, the pearly white snow met with the colour of two pairs of pitch black wings, the battle of the colours lasting until the sun finally set.

* * *

**[A/R (=Author's Rant)]**

**So, THE END. It's over. It's finally over - after many months of writing. Wow. My first fanfiction is finally done.**

**I went back to my oldest chapters and, well, I've improved so much. I've also learnt so many things about Hataraku Maou-sama! and made so many people watch it... I've become a real crazy fan of this anime/manga/light novel series. Sigh.**

**Since I started writing the fic, this is the ending I've wanted to write for this story. Even before figuring out the plot twists and everything, I've wanted to end this story this way - with Hana doing the thing she loves with the person she loves. I really just saw the image of them flying together in my head often when writing this.**

**Anyway, like I've said before... This story will have a rewrite. I can't abandon this fandom nor this pairing - I'm way too in love with it. The rewrite will be called "Like the Wings of an Angel" (get it? Lol) and it will be told more in the canon of the ln:s. The main plot is going to be the same, but a lot of the content is going to change. **

**I'm also going to start a fanfiction for the Ao No Exorcist fandom, so if you're interested in these two, you can put me into your author alerts. ^^**

**Anyway, finally, please tell me what you think about this fic - everything on the top of your mind. I'll probably read it even if it's months or years old (creepy?) and it'll probably make me smile even then. I don't mind if it's constructive critisism, admiration or even hate (oh my gosh), I will welcome it if it's what you thought.**

**And now, finally at the end of this rant, I hope you enjoyed Pearly white and pitch black! I hope to find you reading my other stories as well! Bye till then~**

_**Your author, Hanachana**_


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